Writing the first CV for one of your children can be one of the most difficult tasks that a parent can undertake. After all, where do you start, you know that you need to help them and of course you love them- but how do you get across to someone else just how good they really are.

Start helping your child by drawing all of those achievements out of them that have been long forgotten. Whether it is being the school volleyball captain or just a class prefect, it all helps. Remember that part time job they took on at weekend to help fund the cost of college, list those as well.

An achievement driven CV stands out from all the rest -- It shows a recruiter that the candidate has a proven track record- the implication being that they will be able to carry through that record of going the extra mile through to that new position. Shy away from responsibilities, even at this stage, employers expect people to have carried through their responsibilities and are looking for the extra-ordinary candidate.

The humble spell checker can be a great help- it is an excellent tool when writing for example an article like this. Over reliance on the spell checker, however can make a CV stand out for all the wrong reasons. Be extra careful when using features like autocorrect. Most spell checkers use American English as the benchmark, useful on the western side of the Atlantic but far less use on the Eastern side.

The purpose of the hobbies and interests section in a CV is to bring a little spice and interest- a talking point at interview, perhaps. This isn’t the time to go on about your desire to travel to every country in the world- there are few employers that will look favourably on the prospect of their newest recruit disappearing from view as soon as they have enough money saved for their air fare.

Most school leavers have more than adequate computer skills. Can you imagine how many CVs that an employer reads that have MS Word, Excel, etc. written on them? A simple yet effective method of showing an employer the practical value of the skill is to explain just how that skill has been used. For example, MS Word, used to write 45 page eBook, published on the internet and read by 1,237 people impresses far more than just saying MS Word