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"Darren Dewrance went above and beyond my expectations in sourcing me my perfect role. I was kept in regular communication with Darren and he worked extremely hard on securing my dream job."

Russell Sealy, Candidate

What Every CV Should Include

Personal details and Contact Information

Name and Contact Details: Put your name and contact details at the top of the CV. You can also put it within the header, but remember that some recruitment software is unable to read headers.

Age: Due to recent age legislation more and more people are choosing to not put their age and date of birth on their CV – you don’t have to and don’t feel that you have to. (In fact it is likely to be illegal to put your date of birth on your CV in coming years)

Marital Status: It is not necessary to detail your marital status and is actually becoming more and more frowned upon as it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of marital status. Of course, if you are happily married or single and wish to add this detail, there is nothing wrong with doing so.  

Work eligibility:  Detail your eligibility to work in the EU for any employer or your visa/passport status if from outside of the EU.

Please note that by detailing personal details such as name, address, and email address you may be putting yourself at risk of identity theft. See Job Boards and Identity Theft for a comprehensive guide to protecting your personal details.

Personal profiles and career objective

The world is split on this one - some people love them, some don’t even read them! Why not detail a short paragraph detailing your key skills and traits, core values and beliefs.

Career objective: Do not use specific job titles unless you are tailoring your CV to each and every role. i.e. “Graduate Aerospace Engineer seeks career role within a growing aeronautical organisation” could mean that you are discounted from the ideal graduate engineer role with an F1 team that you’d be ideal for! Use generic career objectives if placing your CV on a CV job board or with a recruitment consultancy.

Education and qualifications

Detail your highest level of education first. Then detail other formal qualifications, other education, Professional Memberships/Affiliations in the order you deem most necessary to your sector.

Name your University and your classification if 2.2 or above (if you don’t all employers will assume you failed or got a third class degree!) If you are a recent graduate detail your core subjects and dissertation title. Unless you are a recent graduate do not waste valuable CV space going into the depths of detailing the individual grades of your O-Levels/.GCSE’s/A-Levels/CSE’s, etc – detailing your passes in the core Maths, English subjects will suffice. i.e. Achieved ‘9 GCE ‘O-Levels’ at Grade C and above including English and Maths’.

Some employers pay more credence to your ‘A-Level’ grades than your degree! If they’re good – detail them! Do not under any circumstances tell an untruth about your education or memberships – they are incredibly easy to verify which is a standard step in any requirement process nowadays.

Previous Employment

How to detail your career

When detailing your career, list previous employment in reverse chronological order - do the first job first and work backwards. Your most recent experience, the last 5 years, is perceived as most important and is given the highest ‘weight’ in deciding whether to invite you, or not, for interview.

What were your responsibilities and what did you achieve?

When discussing your previous employment, remember to detail what you achieved in the role. Employers want to read facts – how have you increased sales, decreased costs, improved systems, increased customer satisfaction, built a database, increased investment, drove down supplier rates, etc.

Particularly use facts that you can back up at an interview with evidence – case studies, testimonials, league tables, P60’s, etc. (many employers will expect to see evidence of your claims at interview stage and it is imperative that you know your own facts and figures at interview)

Previous salary

When detailing your career, some candidates choose to include their previous salary. Again many employers like to see this progression; however it can work against you. For instance if you were in a £45K international sales development role and left to take a £30K UK based salary to breathe life back into your work life balance it may be perceived or assumed as a backwards step. If it is continuous progression then detail it. Don’t overstate your earnings as many employers require P60s as part of their referencing process and they will see your earnings YTD on your P45 anyhow.

Why did you leave?

It is often debated whether it is worth detailing your reasons for leaving your previous role. Indeed, many employers like to be able to see why you have taken logical career steps to this point. If you reasons for leaving are not a pretty story, then don’t bother! If you do decide that your reasons for leaving are important to your profile, then be sure to only give this information succinctly. Don’t give a long sob story because an employer won’t find this at all relevant to your employability.

List of skills

Make sure to detail if you have a full driving license, and what computer software you are able to use and to what level.

Being able to speak a foreign language is also considered an extremely valuable skill. Even if you aren’t applying for a job where it is necessary to speak a language, it is still extremely impressive and should be noted. However, that a year of French lessons when you were twelve is not worth noting. Understanding the odd word does not constitute basic level French.

Any career specific skills that you would like to include are vital to your CV. All recruitment companies and many employers now use CV parsing software that 'auto reads' your details and populates the database fields. The very latest software matches CV’s to job specifications in an automated process and provides a shortlist and a percentage match to the specification using a combination of keyword matching, artificial intelligence and an algorithm that predicts suitability. Trust me it is unbelievably quick AND accurate. Detailing core skills is therefore a must in this digital age. See writing a CV for the Digital age

Interests and hobbies

Many books and CV advice sites say that this is superfluous information. However I use it extensively as a hirer to get a ‘flavour’ of a person and start every interview with a discussion around the hobbies/interests to put the candidate at ease. DO NOT solely detail ‘reading and socialising with friends’ but I would advise detailing one intellectual interest, one team sport, perhaps another sport and perhaps an art/creative interest. If you are interested in reading expand upon it, i.e. reading 1950’s crime fiction novels. Do not ever detail an interest that you are not knowledgeable about – it really, really can backfire!

Links to publications/web sites:

It is becoming more popular to attach links to personal websites, blogs, articles published, publications, etc. This is absolutely fine but think about the content – does it portray you in your very best light?

See the dangers of social networking for more information on why it could potentially cost you an interview if your personal website portrays you badly.

Links to companies that you’ve worked for, however, and projects that you’ve completed will do no harm and can be quite useful to a potential employer.

References

If you do not wish to detail your references don’t even waste valuable CV space on ‘References: Available upon Request.'

Try and ensure that you do have references available, however, because a potential employer would be well within their rights to request them at any point.

Date published: 5th March 2024

Headshot of George Humpries in a suit, Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment

About the author

George Humphries

George is an experienced recruitment consultant at Aaron Wallis, specialising in recruiting top sales staff for technical and commercial positions. With a background in both FCMG and technical sales, George has first-hand experience in the sales industry, giving him great insight into identifying top performers. 

If you're looking to take the next step in your career, George is a valuable source of professional advice, working daily with some of the brightest and biggest businesses throughout the UK. 

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HR Manager, The Data Privacy Group Ltd

Generally good standard of candidates. Especially liked the personality profile. Overall good value for money and will certainly use you again.

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I could not suggest anything I would like you to do better. The service you provided materially exceeded my expectations. I would especially like to commend Simon Bonner; he is easily the best recruitment consultant I have ever dealt with. I particularly valued his advice and guidance throughout the recruitment process. 

UK Sales Manager, BTS Holdings Limited 

George came recommended by a colleague and has been a pleasure to work with. He was great at updating us on his progress and ensured a great experience for both client and candidate.

HR Manager, Annapurna Recruitment Ltd

We were impressed not only by the quality of candidates you found for us but also the level of information, preparation and qualification you put into the process. You continually kept us informed of each person’s feelings about the process, which is very important but often overlooked. I am looking forward to working with your company again in the future.

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I found Aaron Wallis to be very professional and efficient, taking time to understand the role and the type of candidate we were looking for. The candidates they put forward met our criteria and were of a high standard. The service they provided was exemplary and I would have no hesitation in recommending them, and will certainly consider using them again in the future.

HR Assistant, Fischer Connectors Ltd

Aaron Wallis has continuously provided us with suitable candidates that have been proactively sourced. Having used countless recruitment companies, Aaron Wallis are the only company that I can count on to deliver.

Managing Director, JARK Healthcare Recruitment

Thank you for your dedicated help during the recruitment process - we came to you after unsuccessfully searching elsewhere, and hired, not one, but two! Quick response times, and a really personal approach, without being pushy.

Managing Director, Accora Ltd

George is a rare find in the world of recruitment - communicative without being pushy or over-bearing. He listens and understands what the customer needs as gets to know the business to ensure he provides fully competent candidates who fit.

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I just wanted to thank you for your help with our recruitment process which went very smoothly and has – we hope – found us just the person for the job!

Managing Director, Citrefine International Ltd

Rob is a true recruitment professional that goes the extra mile that I have never experienced from any other recruitment agency before. If you need sales people call Rob or someone in his team, as they really are experts in sales recruitment.

Sales Director, Inside Business

George is a joy to work with, and I'd recommend him to anyone seeking that unicorn hire - he found me mine, and I'm delighted!

Director, Education Support

I have used Aaron Wallis to fill a number of our Sales Development Manager roles and I have found them to provide a very professional service. I will use their services again in future recruitment campaigns.

HR Business Partner, Greene King

Rob’s knowledge of the recruitment industry and his thoughts and how to make it better for his clients have always been eye opening. I would recommend Rob to anybody who is looking for a professional, knowledgeable and flexible recruitment specialist.

CEO, Friday Ad Online Services

Giles Phillips is a rare find in the minefield of sales recruitment; an honest and thoughtful recruiter who considers the needs of both the client AND the candidate to create perfect role matches. I look forward to working with him again in the future.

Marketing Director, City of London Police

I can't fault Sam or AW! Sam was a pleasure to work with and provided great support from the start. Sam always provided me with timely updates when required and provided outstanding candidates!

Director, Waste Managed Ltd

Giles is highly professional and was a pleasure to work with. He achieves excellent results through his personable skills and tenacity. I have no hesitation in recommending Giles to anyone who considers employing his services.

Commercial Director, G4S Government & Outsourcing Solutions

Since joining DSGi, Rob has been a supplier of permanent staff and has performed to an extremely high standard, successfully filling 98% of roles he has worked on. If anyone is looking for a good sales and marketing based consultancy with an informal yet professional approach, I would recommend Rob.

Senior Recruitment Consultant, DSG International

We appointed Aaron Wallis in February and the successful candidate, out of the six which Aaron Wallis introduced, was able to join Alphametrics before the end of April. The whole process took less than three months. I would recommend Aaron Wallis' services to others without hesitation.

Chief Financial Officer, Alphametrics

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HR Manager, Zircon Software Ltd

Very professional service and will certainly be in contact for future recruitment.

Director, Blakedown Sport & Play Ltd

In an industry where people over promise and under deliver, Rob and his teams have consistently provided a high-quality service. It is great to deal with someone that has an excellent understanding of UK industry, and a passion for sales.

Sales Manager, TR Fasteners

Understood the type of person we were looking for and good follow ups - not too frequent.

Managing Director, bigHead Bonding Fasteners Ltd

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Thanks for all your help during the recruitment process. I have been extremely impressed with Aaron Wallis especially when compared to other agencies we have dealt with. I really felt you grasped the type of person we required and found strong candidates.

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I would highly recommend thank you to Darren for helping me secure my new job role! Excellent service all round!

G. Thompson, Candidate

Friendly, proactive, communicative. Overall a really positive experience.

R. Houston, Candidate

Very good advice and support was given during the course of the interviewing process. Potential job seekers would be well advised to use this company whilst looking for their new career.

R. Speakman, Candidate

For anyone looking for work, I can't recommend Aaron Wallis highly enough.

C. Rockliffe, Candidate

Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment are a very friendly and professional recruitment organisation who listen to your needs, work with you and act on your behalf which sets them apart from many of their competitors who in my experience are willing to throw anything at you. We discussed my history, my preferences and my wishes - one opportunity was introduced. It was perfect. I start at the end of June.

R. Buckley, Candidate

George is a fantastic recruitment agent and provides a great service. It was a pleasure I thoroughly recommend George to anyone.

C. Beaugie, Candidate

Aaron Wallis is an outstanding recruitment agency specialising in high calibre sales positions. I was working directly with Darren Dewrance who went above and beyond my expectations in sourcing me my perfect role. I was kept in regular communication with Darren and he worked extremely hard to secure my dream job. Highly recommended and Thanks Darren for all your expertise and hard work.

R. Sealy, Candidate

Rob was really helpful when I was putting together a presentation for the second stage interview. Overall their communication was great and kept me updated of any progress

J. McGrattan, Candidate

Very polite and friendly and was very helpful finding me my next new role.

K. Craggs, Candidate

Aaron Wallis (and in particular Rob Scott) have been fantastic throughout the recruitment process, and even a few months down the line, still continues to care. Rob clearly cares about each individual and has a wealth of knowledge and expertise, which shows in the work he does. Each candidate is not just a number, and the support received from Aaron Wallis has helped me get a career which I truly enjoy.

M. White, Candidate 

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A. Kirkland, Candidate

Darren at Aaron Wallis was really encouraging and helpful. He was very responsive and regularly made phone calls to explain the job opportunities available, and guided me through the application process.

A. Brown, Candidate

Less than two weeks after joining Aaron Wallis I was offered my new job. I got a £10,000 rise in my basic salary, car allowance, a laptop and many other perks, which will help to further my career. I definitely would not have found my dream job without the help of Aaron Wallis.

C. Hoy, Candidate

The service provided by Aaron Wallis has been just great. I was constantly informed about what was going on with the process interview and the agent has always been supportive and kind to me.

L. Colagrossi, Candidate

Fantastic customer service, communication was brilliant, happy polite people to talk to, made everything a lot easier and smoother. Thank you for all your help getting me back in the work force, Keep up the good work :-)

K. Everitt, Candidate

Good swift process with Aaron Wallis, informative regarding the role and the process was moved at a good pace with healthy interaction. Would recommend them to anyone pursuing a change.

S. Bartlett, Candidate

Sophie contacted me about a role explained the details clearly and made sure I was ready for the interview. She kept in touch every step of the way till I started the job. Thank you Sophie for a great experience.

S. Powell, Candidate

Simon was knowledgeable on his clients history, background and what their requirements were and he worked around time zones, holidays and a pandemic to get the right result.

J. Tooze, Candidate

I can honestly say that the time and expertise you gave me was way beyond any other recruitment consultant I dealt with. You are a rarity in your industry.

S. Akers, Candidate

The staff at Aaron Wallis were fantastic. Throughout the process, they maintained excellent communication and I always knew where I stood.

M. Owusu, Candidate

The most professional recruitment agency I've ever worked with. Robert Scott was extremely proactive and send me a detailed briefing before each interview, ensuring I was well prepared.

D. Bermant, Candidate

Sam was by far the most professional and helpful of any individual I've ever dealt with through a recruitment agency. He was supportive and thorough throughout the process. He definitely goes the extra mile for you. A pleasure to deal with. I would highly recommend him. An asset to Aaron Wallis

M. Wyer, Candidate

Excellent service, very professional and friendly, would and have, recommended Aaron Wallis.

E. Heley, Candidate

Wanted to say a huge thank you to Simon Bonner who has just helped me secure my new role. He was one of the most professional recruiters I have ever worked with.

J. Marcinkiewicz, Candidate

I had the absolute pleasure of working with George Humphries on finding a placement best suitable for me.

A. Van Der Mescht, Candidate

George Humphries was a complete professional at every point, from our first phone conversation to his “good luck tomorrow” text on Sunday before I started in my new role.

E. Fry, Candidate

I had a very good experience with Aaron Wallis. The company itself is offering great content for all things related to the hiring process. I definitely recommend.

J. Ostermeier, Candidate

Professional and responsive from start to finish. I would highly recommend. Special thanks to Sophie J for her help and support throughout.

N. Leney, Candidate

A great recruitment company to work with. Excellent experience with Aaron Wallis through the entire recruitment process. The team was really professional and extremely helpful. Darren was a pleasure to work with. He was friendly, supportive and gave me great advice. Thank you very much!

A. Bauchet, Candidate

Excellent experience. Knowledgeable staff and really went the extra mile. Found my ideal position and I couldn't be happier. Special shout out to Sam and George: who made the process smooth and easy for me. Highly recommend.

K. Pearce, Candidate

Perfect from start to finish. Simon deserves a shout out. Best recruiter there is. If you need a job, this guy will get you one. He's like the super man of recruiters. Top man, can't recommend him enough.

M. Crisp, Candidate

The detail put into the preparation for interviews and the detail of the job description was first class. Rob and Simon in particular are amongst the best I've ever dealt with.

K. Peacock, Candidate

Sophie helped me secure a new role I have been searching for. She took her time to explain clear and concisely all I needed to succeed at the interview stage. Thanks again Sophie!

O. Oladejo, Candidate

Fantastic service, helped me find my ideal job quickly and smoothly. Would highly recommend them.

C. Caine, Candidate

Managed to get me placed within a week! Really friendly and easy to deal with. Always available for a call and my biggest challenge was I was in work at the time I was looking for my next opportunity (which is stressful) but Sam made that easy.

P. Fitzsimons, Candidate

I had a great experience. Helped me every step of the way to get my new job. Sophie was very polite, kind and helpful!

J. Parnham, Candidate

Wanted to say a huge thank you to Simon Bonner who has just helped me secure my new role. He was one of the most professional recruiters I have ever worked with he was supportive really quick at replying and really put me at ease.

J. Marcinkiewicz, Candidate

I would highly recommend Aaron Wallis Recruitment, Darren was extremely helpful and provided me with plenty of advice and support throughout the whole process.

D. Bretherton, Candidate

I have to say using Aaron Wallis Recruitment has been nothing but an absolute pleasure. I've used many agencies over the years as the client and the candidate and its not always been a pleasurable experience!

L. Knowles, Candidate

I have to say coming across and having dealings with Aaron Wallis proved to be very successful. Being highly experienced did not seem to count for much during my job search bit a conversation with Robert Scott gave me a real confidence boost and enabled to get a position at the age of 63. Great service!!!

D. Burgess, Candidate

When talking with Simon you felt relaxed cared to help you find a position that suited your needs

D. Pinder, Candidate

The Recruitment agent I used, Simon, was extremely helpful and really went the extra mile to ensure all of my questions were answered, and that I felt as comfortable and prepared as possible. Very professional company and would definitely recommend to others. Thank you Aaron Wallis!

A. Callaby, Candidate

Sophie has been fantastic and always so attentive, highly recommend.

T. Ashbourne, Candidate