What makes a good CV?

At Big fish we trawl through hundreds of CVs everyday day. It's our job.

In fact, some curriculum vitaes can be dull things. More like a shopping list than a list of talent. So if you'd like to know how to make your CV stand out from the crowd and create the maximum impact, please take the time to read the following do's and don'ts.

Do

• Tailor your CV to the job that you are applying for.
  Read the job description carefully, and make sure that you have demonstrated that you meet all or most of the criteria. Creating artwork is a very different thing to creating works of art. If possible, your employment referees should be from your current or most recent place of work. Remember that employment referees carry much more weight than personal referees.
• Prioritise the information that you are supplying.
  Put the most relevant details first and work backwards through you career history from your last job.
• Make the key points easy to find and easy to read.
  Always bear in mind that the recipient may have a significant number to read and therefore may only have time to skim-read CV's. It's what bullet points were invented for.
• Check your CV thoroughly.
  Then get someone else to check it. Spelling mistakes and poor grammar are unacceptable in most industries, but in this one attention to detail is crucial.
• Supply your details digitally.
  As all of our CVs are processed electronically, please send us your details accordingly. Word files are ideal as they allow us to edit out any irrelevant details.
• Attach samples.
  Visual examples of your work speak volumes. PDF attachments or scans enable us, and potential employers, to instantly see what you are about. Don't forget, not everyone is working on a mac, so whatever you send, make sure it is viewable on a PC.
• Point us towards your online portfolio if you have one.
  One step up from attached samples is work accessible via the net, but please remember, if we are to direct an employer to your site we will need you to have a version with your contact details removed.

Don't

• Leave unexplained gaps in your career history.
• Ever include a photo.
  Even if you're a stunner, the way you look is almost always irrelevant, even in an industry as concerned with image as this one.
• Make it too long. Three pages is the absolute maximum, two should suffice.
• Waste time and space elaborating on non-relevant academic or career details. If it's not pertinent to the job in question, just supply the bare facts about your naked hang-gliding. Overdo the design. It is better to receive a plain nicely laid out CV, than an out an out excuse to show off the Photoshop filters you don't get to play with in your day job.
• Overdo the design.
  It is better to receive a plain nicely lais out CV than an out and out excuse to show off the Photoshop filters you don't get to play with in your day job.