The purpose of your CV is primarily to market you and your abilities. Therefore state what you can do, how effective you will be, and why we should talk to you. Traditionally a CV includes your educational and professional  background and explains your ability to perform the job for which you are applying. A second important use is to indicate your potential for future success by evaluating your past successes.

Lead with achievements
Start points with purposeful verbs such as achieved, gained, learned, served, responsible for, arranged, encouraged etc. Use bullet points to emphasise the key successes in your life. Don't write lengths of prose for job descriptions.

Keep it honest
Lying on your CV is a waste of your time and ours. Don't sell yourself short. If you think the three summers you spent working for a charity in France show your knowledge of the country and its culture - then say so.

Make it legible and free of errors
Make sure your CV is well presented and readable so that the key information can be found quickly and avoid duplications.
Typing mistakes and grammatical errors can dramatically reduce the impact of your CV. Don't rely on the spell check to pick up any mistakes. Read it over thoroughly when you think you have finished.

Two pairs of eyes
A fresh eye is useful to spot mistakes or offer suggestions. Get a trusted friend to read through the CV when you think it is ready. Once you've read and amended your CV three or four times, it's difficult to stand back and look at it objectively. Never try and finish your CV in one sitting - always go back to it after a couple of days.

Preparing your CV
Your resume should be organized in a logical way so that the key information can be found easily.

The most common order of the basic elements in a CV is as follows:

Identification
Place your name at the top of the page on its own line. Use standard address format below your name and state where you can be contacted.

Education
If you have been in the job market for less than two years, give equal attention to achievements while at University. Captain of the debating team, student union rep, set designer for the university play all show you to be enthusiastic, a self-starter and full of initiative.

Work Experience
Work reverse chronologically:
Start with your current employment and work backwards including full- and part-time jobs, academic research, work placements and volunteer work. Always mention the name and country of your employer, start and end dates, your job title and a brief description of your duties, plus your accomplishments.
If you are looking for your first job, list any relevant work experience first, paid or unpaid. Always describe your experience with concrete words rather than with vague descriptions. Do not leave any gaps in time. If you were not working for a while, state why and what you did during that time.

Activities and Awards
List professional or academic awards or organization memberships (especially if you've held a position of responsibility); Computer skills as well as foreign languages are important to mention. And don't forget to talk about your hobbies as they give important indications about your personality.