When you’re writing a CV for the first or even if you’re an experienced writer, it can be a difficult and time consuming task. It’s good advice to tailor a CV for specific job applications but it can be a time consuming and frankly boring process.

I’ve found that creating a master document with everything that you could possibly need is a great way forward.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Master CV Document

Step 1: Gather Your Information

Start by collecting all the relevant information you might need for your CV. This includes:

– **Personal Information**: Full name, contact details, LinkedIn profile, professional website or portfolio links.
– **Professional Summary**: A few variations of your professional summary or objective, tailored for different types of roles you might apply for.
– **Work Experience**: Detailed descriptions of all your past job roles, including job titles, company names, locations, and dates of employment.
– **Education**: Details of your educational background, including degrees, institutions, graduation dates, and relevant coursework or achievements.
– **Skills**: A comprehensive list of your hard and soft skills, categorized if necessary.
– **Certifications and Licenses**: Any certifications or licenses relevant to your field.
– **Projects**: Detailed descriptions of relevant projects you have worked on, including your role, the technologies used, and the outcomes.
– **Publications and Presentations**: Any papers, articles, or presentations you have authored or contributed to.
– **Awards and Honours**: Any recognitions or awards you have received.
– **Professional Memberships**: Any relevant professional organizations you belong to.
– **Volunteer Experience**: Any volunteer work that is relevant to your career.

**Step 2: Create the Master CV**

Open a new document in your preferred word processor (e.g., Microsoft Word, Google Docs). Title it something like “Master CV Document.”

This article will help you if you follow the instructions in the video: https://cvthatworks.co.uk/how-to-write-a-cv-from-scratch/

**Step 3: Organise Your Information**

Use headings and subheadings to organize your information into clear sections. Here is a suggested structure:

– **Header**
– Full Name
– Contact Information
– LinkedIn Profile / Professional Website

– **Professional Summary**
– Summary 1: [Type of role or industry] – Summary 2: [Different type of role or industry]

– **Work Experience**
– **Job Title** at **Company Name**
– Location | Dates of Employment
– Responsibilities and Achievements
– Repeat for each position

– **Education**
– **Degree** in **Field of Study**
– Institution Name, Graduation Date
– Relevant Coursework, Honours, or Projects

– **Skills**
– **Technical Skills**: List all relevant technical skills
– **Soft Skills**: List all relevant soft skills

– **Certifications and Licenses**
– Certification Name | Issuing Organisation | Date

– **Projects**
– **Project Title**
– Description
– Role
– Technologies Used
– Outcomes

– **Publications and Presentations**
– Title of Work | Publication Name | Date

– **Awards and Honours**
– Award Name | Issuing Organization | Date

– **Professional Memberships**
– Organisation Name | Membership Type

– **Volunteer Experience**
– **Volunteer Role** at **Organisation Name**
– Location | Dates of Involvement
– Responsibilities and Achievements

**Step 4: Add Detailed Content**

Fill in each section with detailed content. Be thorough and include as much information as possible, even if it seems repetitive. The goal is to have a comprehensive resource that you can pull from when tailoring your CV.

**Step 5: Review and Edit**

Once you have all your content in the master document, review it for any errors or inconsistencies. Edit for clarity, conciseness, and relevance. Make sure each section is well-organised and easy to navigate.

**Step 6: Save and Backup**

Save your master document in a secure location, such as a cloud storage service (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) and on your local hard drive. Regularly update this document with new information as your career progresses.

**Step 7: Tailoring for Specific Applications**

When applying for a job, open your master document and create a copy. Use the copy to tailor your CV for the specific job by including only the most relevant information and adapting the professional summary, skills, and work experience sections to align with the job description.

### Summary

By creating a master document of your CV content, you significantly reduce the time and effort required to tailor your CV for different job applications. This organised approach ensures you have all the necessary information at your fingertips, making the CV writing process more efficient and less daunting.

Useful Links:

https://cvthatworks.co.uk/what-really-sells-you-best-on-your-cv/

https://cvthatworks.co.uk/how-to-write-a-cv-from-scratch/

https://cvthatworks.co.uk/four-steps-to-a-successful-job-search-strategy-post-pandemic/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum_vitae 

Author: Glenn Hughes

I’m a professional CV writer who also writes website content, LinkedIn profiles, helps people with bespoke job applications and more. I’ve been writing for the internet since 2009 and have many published articles.

Author

  • Glenn Hughes

    I'm a professional CV writer who also writes website content, LinkedIn profiles, helps people with bespoke job applications and more. I've been writing for the internet since 2009 and have many published articles.

    View all posts

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