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How to write an effective Interim CV

Written by: Ray Nicholls - Director, EquityInterim and Founder, MyExecLoop
Published on: 30 Nov 2020

Your CV is an important document to get right. 

Be mindful that your CV alone will not get you the job, but it should get you noticed and hopefully get you in front of a decision maker giving you the opportunity to sell yourself. There are a few things to bear in mind when you are crafting yours: 

Who will be reading it? 

Are you applying to a recruiter advert, a role advertised by a company or are you sending it directly to a company that you are interested in? Whichever it may be, think about whether the recipient will understand the jargon and acronyms of your chosen profession. It needs to be obvious why you are relevant for this piece of work. 

Is it simple to navigate and logically presented? 

If your CV is consistent throughout in its layout it will be easier to read and your relevance will be obvious. Interim assignments will usually need to be shortlisted quickly. 

Structure: 

There isn’t a perfect format, but I thought it might be useful to share as an insight, when I read a CV, what I am looking for. Having the following information in the template really helps (Example below). 

Avoid a lengthy personal statement, (use your application cover letter or email to highlight three or four examples of why you are relevant against the brief). 

The length of the CV is a personal choice, too long and the relevance starts to blur, too short and you may not have given the reader enough detail / context. 

Example CV: 

 

CV: 

Name: xxxxxxx 

M: xxxxxxx 

E: xxxxxxx 

Location: xxxxxxxx 

Availability: dd/mm/yy 

Academics: 

School name Location Years (YY-YY) 

GCSEs + A’levels Grades 

University Name Course Grade Years (YY – YY) 

Prof Qual: 

Membership body Qualification Year attained (YY) 

Further Studies: 

MBA Business School Year Attained (YY) 

Professional experience: 

Company name Location Dates (MM/YY – MM/YY) 

Title: Interim XXXXXXX 

Narrative: The main business activity of the company, size by £T/O, Reach (domestic/international), funding structure (Privately owned, VC,PE,PLC). 

Reason for engagement: 

Outcomes: 

(Repeat above format for each of the assignments that you have completed). 

Whilst the template is simple, it should be enough to encourage a conversation with whoever is advertising the opportunity. I would recommend avoiding flashy fonts and unusual layouts as they can distract the reader from the content. Read our useful 5 on how to write a CV that stands out.