For graduates, there is no better way of showing employers throughout the United Kingdom their qualifications and skills than a well-crafted curriculum vitae (CV). The successful CV is typically two to three pages in length, includes the graduate's contact information, and outlines why an employer should hire a particular graduate for an open position. Graduates may feel that creating a winning CV is a difficult process but with a few quick steps, young professionals can dazzle hiring managers at their dream job.

The first item that should be on a CV is the address, phone number, and email of the graduate. After that, graduates need to include a statement of their professional and career goals. This statement should only be two to three sentences long and must provide a concise reason for employers to consider the graduate for their open positions. With hundreds of applications coming into human resources departments for every advertised position, a great statement of goals can help distinguish a graduate from their competition.

After the statement of goals, every graduate should include the highest level of education attained. Graduates should include distinctions at university, when they graduated, which university they attended, and the years in which they attended school. While educational experiences before university may be influential to graduates, a good CV only includes information that is important to the hiring company.

Graduates also need to include employment experience on their CV. Whether it is a part time data entry job during the summer between university terms or a valuable internship at a major company, graduates should list all of their professional experience. The key for graduates is to highlight job responsibilities that fit in well with their desired position. For example, a graduate with temporary sales experience during a summer job should highlight any management or organizational experience when applying for a sales management position.

Two final pieces of information are needed on any great CV. Graduates should include specialized skills in a separate category from education and employment experience. These skills can range from fluency in various languages to certification in emergency medical procedures, which can make a graduate more marketable to an employer. For graduates with numerous specialized skills, tailoring this section of the CV to the particular job they are applying to may help keep the CV concise. As well, graduates who want to help hiring companies confirm the details on the CV should provide personal and professional preferences. Typically, three to five references should be given in order to help companies research graduate backgrounds.