A curriculum vitae or CV is a detailed synopsis of your background and skills. A CV can be considered as a marketing brochure. After going through your CV, the prospective employer decides whether he wants to see you for an interview or not. There are several points to be considered while preparing an effective CV.

1) A CV should include your name, contact info, educational background, skills and experience. Also include your research or teaching experience, publications (also include dates), grants and fellowships, professional associations, awards and other information which are relevant to the position you are applying for.

2) Always remember the recruiter is not interested in knowing your father's name at the start of your CV. He normally prefers to know about your educational background and your work experience.

3) A CV should not include your photo, your salary history, references or the reason why you left your previous job. Remember references should be given to employers upon request.

4) Always check your CV for any typing and grammatical errors. Its better to ask someone else to review it for you.

5) Your CV should look professional and a polished one. Formatting (bold, italic, spacing, etc.) will help you to do so. You can use a sample CV as a guide.

6) Always try to keep your CV short, clear and concise. Just provide summaries of your employment and educational background.

7) Keep your CV up-to-date with all your current employment details and educational background.

8) There are number of people who might have applied for the same job. So if you think that any of your particular achievements gives you a cutting edge over other job seekers , then simply emphasize on it.

9) Try to use more impactful words in your CV. For e.g. managed, achieved, counselled etc. These words will demonstrate your control over things.

10) Always tell the Truth and be honest. The employers these days conduct reference and background checks and if your CV doesn't match your actual work history and experience, you will most likely get into the trouble and will get rejected.

More information can be found at http://www.samplecvs.org/