Tips for penning an online CV

Recruitment is well and truly entrenched in the online world now, meaning that it's increasingly important to make sure your online CV is up to scratch.

While online CVs share many of the same virtues of the traditional paper format, there are a few subtle differences that you should consider before penning your resume and submitting it to the web.

DO

- Ensure that you list all your qualifications, achievements and any extra studies you may have undertaken.

- If possible, try to back this up with actual achievements that you may feel appropriate.

- Try and include company names as much as possible as this will serve to shore up your CV and reassure employers that they can check with the companies for references.

However, this shouldn't be a replacement for references' details. References are a vital aspect of CVs, but dropping in a couple of companies can add to their effect.

- Be sure to highlight clearly any unique or extra special piece of information about you and your career thus far. This is what can attract the eye of an employer and is what will stick in their mind when it comes to offering interviews.

DON'T

- Lie or exaggerate about any part of your career. The internet makes it so much easier for companies to scout around and carry out a background check, meaning you will be found out should you tell any white lies. This will do your prospects of securing an interview no good at all.

- Include too many personal contact details. Remember you are still sending a great deal of information about yourself to someone you don't know. Try and stick to one point of contact such as email or telephone rather than offering all manner of avenues for response.

- Finally - Avoid 'bigging up' your CV too much because, chances are, employers will be able to tell if you're lying especially in the age of online recruitment where it's much easier to find out info about people.