Your CV is the first piece of hard evidence on which a potential employer can judge you.

Consider it to be the brochure that is marketing YOU.

There is no doubt that a badly prepared CV challenges the credibility of its content, no matter how well it reads. If you cannot produce a professional document about yourself, an employer will conclude that you are unlikely to have the competence to fill an important job.

The following guidelines will help you to produce a CV that creates a positive impression.

Length of CV
A CV sent speculatively to a company should be short and concise (ideally two pages). However, this is NOT the case when preparing your CV for BA Recruitment.

When, acting on your behalf, we send your details to a company, we are sending them to a decision-maker who has a specific, current need. That decision-maker will have time to read the CV in full and will need to understand your experience and progression to date. They will choose candidates for interview who most closely match the job and person specifications. Think of it from their point of view as you write it.

We do not recommend a set number of pages. Please include as much detail as you can along the lines of the advice below. If the resulting document is too lengthy, we will advise on how to reduce it when you come to meet us.

Length of your CV DOES become an issue as you become more senior. When responding to an advertisement, through a consultancy or directly, you should be aware that you will be one of a large number of applicants and you need to attract attention to yourself in a more succinct way. On these occasions you should type a covering letter that draws attention to elements of your career most suited to the advertised vacancy, and enclose a CV that is no longer than 3 pages.

Content of CV
Bullet points break up a CV well. However, they need not consist of merely one or two words, for example:
· Reconciliations

Could be
· Responsible for all multicurrency bank reconciliations or
· Assisting in the reconciliations of major balance sheet items

For each bullet point it is important to give the reader a feel for:

· Where you instigated a particular idea/project i.e. initiate/self-starter
· Where you are/were responsible for particular task i.e. primary influence
· Where you assisted on a particular task i.e. secondary influence

This gives the reader an idea of how you would be able to cope with each of the tasks of the role on offer and how proactive and responsible you have been.

Think about the make-up of a particular task and whether it can be broken down into specific tasks to reach the end product. Put all of these elements on your CV separately. Other candidates may be pulling together the work of colleagues rather than performing it themselves. The more duties listed, the more a client will know what tasks he can start you on and where the challenges will lie for you.

Try to structure your experience into financial/management accounting/analytical/project based work. 'Ad hoc projects' must be backed up with examples of issues you have tackled on this basis.

A sentence of introduction about the companies you have worked for, written above the duties you have performed there, is useful. (i.e. the turnover and type of business).

Work experience should be listed in reverse chronological order. Most detail should be provided for the current role, and any lengthy periods in one role/company. Where you have taken various roles within the same company, divide the period and responsibilities for each role rather than group it together at the end. Do not leave gaps in your CV as future employers will track our employment record fully. If you spent a period travelling, say so.

Staff supervision and management liaison

· Staff supervision, number and level.
· Mention contact outside the finance department that was necessary to perform your job. For example, any liaison with sales and marketing departments, general managers in the field, engineers, systems staff, factory staff, directors, auditors, or any interface with the customers.

Important details to include:

· Date of birth, martial status, nationality.
· 'A' Level subjects and grades, and degree course, establishment and classification (if applicable).
· Current stage of professional qualifications, intended date of next sitting (if relevant) and exam pass record to date.
· All systems previously and currently used (spreadsheet/graphics/accounting packages etc).
· Language skills together with level of competence (basic/conversational/fluent).
· Current remuneration package.
· Hobbies and interests.

If you are currently in Public Practice and looking for a move into Industry and Commerce, then details of any secondments to clients or services provided other than audit should be highlighted.

It may take three or four drafts to develop a presentation that will inform and excite the reader. When you think you have it right, ask a couple of colleagues to give you an honest appraisal of your efforts and to comment on the spelling and grammar.