15 Jul 2025
Your curriculum vitae is the first impression your prospective new employers will see of you, so it is essential to get it right
Vet Times
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Image: Liubomir/ Adobe Stock
Thoughts often turn to the need to refresh the CV and what ought to be included. But few give proper thought to exactly how it should be written and presented.
In today’s jobs market, where employers are under the cosh from changes to employment law and increased national insurance costs, new roles are harder to come by. That means that presentation is everything.
First impressions of a CV count, as does an air of professionalism; this is just as important as having the right skills and experience.
By the very nature of the recruitment process, a CV is often the first thing a recruiter or hiring manager will see. Before they read a single word about your experience, they’ll be struck by the layout, structure and design. A clear, organised, and professional format sets the tone – and can be the difference between being asked for interview or being passed over.
A cluttered or confusing CV won’t just frustrate hiring managers – it may also trip up applicant-tracking systems (ATS), making your job search even harder.
A great CV layout allows recruiters to scan and find key information quickly.
Logically, your name, telephone number, email address and any relevant links (such as a website, LinkedIn or social media details) should be placed at the top. To stand out, you can slightly increase the font size for your name.
The advice nowadays is to avoid including personal information such as your full address, date of birth, or an image of yourself; doing so may introduce a subtle bias into the process.
Your CV profile – a summary of yourself – should be a three to five-line introduction that highlights who you are, what you can bring to the job and your career goals. You need to inject some enthusiasm and tailor it to the role you’re applying for – it’ll set the tone for everything that follows.
This is the core of your CV. List your work history in reverse chronological order – most recent job first.
For each role, include four to six bullet points that describe your current responsibilities and what you’ve achieved. Try the PAR format (problem, action, result) to make each point impactful and measurable.
If you’re a recent graduate, list your degree(s), with study dates and the name of your qualifying institution. If you’re still studying, mention your expected graduation date.
School leavers should include A-levels with subjects and dates. GCSEs are usually unnecessary unless you have just finished. In this instance, you just need to mention the number of subjects taken.
If you’re early into your career, education should be placed before work experience. But if you’re well out of education, education details should be kept brief and to the point.
Here you can add a bullet-point list of 6-10 relevant skills, mixing both hard skills (for example, veterinary work) and soft skills (say, problem solving).
Focus on what’s listed in the job description – these are often keywords used by ATS software to screen CVs.
If it’s at all relevant or helpful to the role being applied for include detail on volunteering, qualifications, awards, languages spoken and any outside hobbies or interests.
It’s one thing to have the detail down on the page, but it’s quite another to have it formatted correctly so that it’s clear, consistent and easy to read.
Two main CV styles can be deployed. First is a chronological CV, which is the most common in the UK, which details your work history in reverse order. This style is best if you have a steady employment track.
Alternatively, you can elect to use a skills-based CV that focuses on transferable skills rather than job titles. This format is ideal for career changers or those with gaps in their history.
Another tip is to avoid cramming too much in. Use margins of 2cm to 2.5cm and set line spacing to 1.15 to 1.5 to keep your CV readable and balanced.
As for fonts, the best advice is to use clean, professional fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, or Verdana. Use 10 to 12 point for body text and slightly larger for headings. Avoid decorative fonts – they’re harder to read and can confuse older ATS systems. And use one font throughout for a unified look.
It’s important that you use the same style across the entire document – headings, bullet points and date formatting should all match. Align dates the same way throughout the document while checking that font sizes, spacing and colour schemes are uniform.
Remember that even small inconsistencies can make your CV look unprofessional.
Ultimately, a CV should be long enough to detail your strengths and what you can do, but short enough to remain focused.
Ideally, you should stick to one page if you’re a student, graduate or early on in your career, and two pages if you have more experience.
The key is to prioritise the most relevant information and cut the rest.
This might seem obvious, but make sure you use the tools that come with your word processing app, namely the spell and grammar checkers.
According to 2023 research, “Costly mistakes: why and when spelling errors in resumes jeopardise interview chances”, just two typos can reduce your interview chances by 7.3% Don’t let one error in.
And finally, always tailor your CV to the specific job you’re applying for.
By following these tips, you’ll create a professional-looking CV that not only looks great, but works hard to land you interviews in 2025.
