SEO London CV Guide

It can take as little as 3 seconds to glance through a CV to review your application.

Given there are thousands of CVs for any application, it is important that your CV is done well to attract the reader’s
attention and pique their interest in wanting to follow up with your application.

CV Structure
There is not one perfect CV format; however, all strong CVs have the same basic content and clear structure.
YOUR CV IDEALLY SHOULD BE ONE PAGE AS AN SEO CANDIDATE (Elon Musk can fit his in 1 page so there is no
reason why yours should be more).

1. Full Name at the top of the page, in larger font size than the rest of the CV

2. Email and phone number underneath your name

- You do not need to include your home address
- Make sure your email is professional if it is not already. The best approach is firstname.lastname@xmail.com
and it is your personal one rather than a university email.
- If you want to include your LinkedIn profile, customize it so that it is succinct instead of a string of numbers

3. Education and Qualifications (starting with the most recent – put in reverse chronological order)
- Include a list of relevant courses done as part of your university degree and overall achieved or expected grade;
- List of A-levels (or equivalent) subjects and grade;
- GCSEs (or equivalent): state number achieved and grade, e.g. 8 A*s including Mathematics (A) and English (A*)

4. Work Experience (starting with the most recent – put in reverse chronological order)
- State the name of the organisation, your title and dates of employment on one line
- Use bullet points to structure the content of each description (a maximum of two-three points)
o Try to use powerful and persuasive words such as enhanced/developed/strengthened/improved/
increased when referring to a skill or ability you demonstrated in your role
o Quantify your contribution, e.g. “Accomplishment [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]”
o Metrics of Success are very important, i.e. say what you did and outline the impact you had. Think
about the difference for a candidate who worked as a Sales consultant at Hugo Boss and how it is
showcased:
▪ Normal: “Consistently amongst top sales people in the UK” vs
▪ Outstanding: “Honed sales skills from consistently exceeding daily sales target of £10k by 20%
and awarded Top 20 sales people award for the UK in 2017”

5. Extracurricular Activities / Notable Achievements

- Include other projects you have been involved with, including charity or voluntary work
- Include any notable awards, achievements or positions of responsibility, e.g. if you were a member of society,
state what you did in this role

6. Skills and Interests

- Computer Skills: Include your fluency in any programming languages or applications
- Language Skills: Use native/fluent/intermediate/basic to reflect language abilities
- Interests: Indicate to the reader something about yourself. Be more specific to give more colour, e.g. don’t put
generic details like “Interests: Reading and Gym”. Put “Enjoy reading and have put my favourite author Marie
Kondo’s advice on decluttering into practice. Also a frequent practitioner of Zumba at my local gym”

➔ DO NOT include a Personal Profile at the top or “References Available upon Request” at the bottom.
➔ Double check your CV – there shouldn’t be silly mistakes.
Sample CV Template – the best candidates introduce their own style and design

Faye-K Nayi
+44 (0) 098 654 3210 | nayim.faye-k@gmail.com

EDUCATION
University of Oxford, St Catherine’s College Oxford, UK
MA Politics, Philosophy & Economics Sept 2016 - Present
First year results: First (88%) Predicted overall result: First

Knights Sixth Form College London, UK

A-Levels: Further Mathematics (A*), Mathematics (A*), Physics (A*), Economics (A*) Sep 2014 – Jun 2016
Awarded Knights A-Level Scholarship for 2 years; Mathematics Olympiad (Gold)

Forest Secondary School London, UK

GCSE Grades – 10 A*s including Maths [A*], English Language [A*] Sep 2010 – Jun 2014
‘Best Overall Student’ in Economics Year 10

WORK EXPERIENCE
Goldman Sachs, London, UK
Incoming Global Markets Summer Analyst Jun 2018 – Aug 2018
• 10 week Global Markets Summer Programme split across FX Sales and Commodities Structuring

Camp Lakota New York, USA

Camp Counselor Jul 2017 – Aug 2017
• In charge of the computer program teaching programming and app building skills to 300 camp participants
• Enhanced ability to work with all ages as resident Bunk Counselor for the youngest group of 10 boys aged 5-8 years old

Mother Theresa Orphanage Abuja, Nigeria

Volunteer Jun 2017 - Jul 2017
• Provided academic assistance to 180 children aged 5-16 at the orphanage
• Rendered spiritual guidance as well as moral support to the children.
• Took daily care of up to 80 disabled people by providing them with baths and cooked meals

Morgan Stanley London, UK

Step In, Step Up Programme Apr 2017
• Selected to attend an insight programme as one of 50 students, from more than 600 applicants in London
• Led a group pitch of a £1m investment idea, thereby developing my leadership and communication skills

Bank of England London, UK

Intern, Monetary Analysis UK Team Jun 2015 - Jul 2015
• Analysed statistical data on consumer confidence by producing graphs on past economic activity and reported the
effects of this on UK economic growth to team
• Filtered high volume of historical data to present a succinct 3-page report assessing the impact of Forward Guidance

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Oxford Finance Society, President Jun 2017 - Present
Oxford Badminton Society, Treasurer Jun 2017 - Present
SEO London Investment Banking First Year Fast Track Sept 2016 - Oct 2016
Successfully completed the 3 Peaks Challenge (ascended 3 highest peaks in UK within 24 hours) Aug 2016
Crisis at Christmas Volunteer every Christmas with the homeless over the festive period Dec 2014-Dec 2017
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Jun 2013 - Jul 2015

SKILLS
Languages : Arabic (native), English (fluent), French (intermediate)
IT : MATLAB, C++, VBA, Python – Participant in Oxford Hackathon 2017
Interests : Grade 8 Piano – love transposing pop mashups; Aspiring Travelhacker (have managed to visit Guatemala and
Egypt on miles); Regular practitioner of Dharma Yoga