Haven’t needed a CV in years? Here’s where to start.

Perhaps you’ve been with the same employer for a long time. Your last few jobs came through people you knew, or you’ve taken on new responsibilities without ever needing to put them on paper.

Now you need a CV, and the one you’ve found on your computer barely resembles what you do today. You might never have had one at all.

It can feel like a big task, especially when you’re trying to remember dates and work out what’s worth including. Start by getting some information together. The wording can come later.

Five useful things to gather

1. Your work history

Where you’ve worked, your job titles and roughly when you held each role. Note any changes in responsibilities, even if your title stayed the same. If dates are uncertain, flag them to check.

2. What you actually did

Think about a normal working day. What did you organise, manage, make, fix or look after? Who relied on you, and what did they rely on you for?

3. Examples you’re proud of

Perhaps you helped a new colleague get settled, resolved a difficult customer issue, improved a process or kept things running during a busy period. You don’t need awards or impressive percentages to have something worthwhile to say.

4. Your training and skills

Include qualifications, workplace training, licences and systems or equipment you can use. Relevant volunteering and community responsibilities can be useful too.

5. An idea of what you want next

A couple of job advertisements can help identify which parts of your experience deserve the most attention.

Rough notes are enough

If you have an old CV, keep it—even an outdated one can help jog your memory. But don’t worry about polishing it before asking for help.

Brief notes, bullet points and “I’ll need to check that” are all perfectly good starting points. There’s no need to turn years of experience into beautifully written paragraphs on your own.

At MVL, I use a questionnaire and a conversation to help draw that information out, then put it together in a way that reflects your experience and the work you’re looking for.

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