Table of contents

Identify the sector of employment and the type of position desired

The first question to ask yourself before writing your CV is: am I targeting a specific sector and position or not?

If this is the case, your whole CV should be designed with the target job in mind. You will select the training and past experience to be listed in relation to this job. If not, your CV should be more general.

These are two different CV design strategies. In the first, you close yourself off to jobs in certain sectors, but you are more likely to get the job you are targeting. In the second strategy, you may have access to more jobs, but perhaps less well qualified or paid.

Select your previous related experiences

If you have identified a specific job sector, list everything you have done in the past related to that sector: initial training, further training, online training, experiences, internships, community work, hobbies. Then select from this list the most relevant items: the most recent, those that have lasted the longest, or those that have been carried out in known companies.

Here is an example of what you can put in your CV for temporary work as an order picker:
- all your previous experience as an order picker (specifying the duration and the company);
- other positions held in the retail sector;
- the training courses you have taken as part of your continuing education as an order picker.

However, do not include :
- your summer jobs as a waiter ;
- your experience in other very different sectors of activity (health, mechanics, etc.).

Opting for versatility and flexibility

If you have not identified a specific sector of activity, you will have to favour another strategy for your CV, which can be summarised as follows: "cast a wide net".

Show your versatility by filling in the different positions you have held, including as a trainee. It doesn't matter if they are very different. On the contrary, versatility is a quality that is often sought after in temporary work. It shows that you are able to adapt to different companies and different types of jobs.

Putting a title to the CV for the interim

If you are targeting a specific job, put it at the top of your CV, for example: "First name Last name, site manager" or "First name Last name, construction professional". If you are looking in different sectors that are very different from each other, do not put a title.

Do not overload your CV

In the vast majority of cases, your CV should fit on the front of an A4 sheet. And this page should remain airy: don't choose a font size of 9 pt to fit everything in! Also, deliberately leave some white space to make it easier to read. It is therefore important to select the really relevant information.

Pay attention to formatting and spelling

A simple word processor is more than enough to write a CV. Use automatic spellcheckers. You can also use LanguageTool (www.languagetool.org) for free.

To find a nice layout, use a template found via a search engine. To do this, type "free word resume template" or "free office resume template" into Google. Or copy the formatting from a well-made interim CV example.

Have at least one other person proofread it

Even if you proofread several times and use a spellchecker, there will probably be typos or mistakes. Have someone who has never seen your CV read it over. They will be better able to pick them up.

View attractive examples of interim CVs

"Example interim CV" is a query that is often searched on search engines. Indeed, it is always useful to have a visual idea of what a temp CV might look like before writing your own. Browsing through several interim CVs can help you to format your own and select the relevant information.