1 Be neat and error-free: Catch all typos and grammar errors before giving your CV to a prospective employer. Make sure someone proofreads it first, preferably someone attentive to details. Even the smallest error could land your application in the reject pile.

2 Use common section headings: Include the following headings: Personal Profile, Work Experience, Educational Details, Achievements, Hobbies and Interests and Professional Affiliations - they break up the page, making it easier to read.

3 Write a powerful personal profile: Write a short personal profile which will help you carry a focused message. The best opening statements summarise your skills and emphasise your strengths.

4 Focus on your benefit to employers: Do this by highlighting accomplishments that will arouse the interest of employers. Bear this question in mind: "How can I fulfil the role and make an impact?" Remember the goal is to get an interview.

5 Use action verbs: Portray yourself as active, accomplished, intelligent, and capable of contributing to any company. Use these words to describe previous experience: managed, launched, created, directed, established, organised, and supervised.

6 Avoid personal pronouns: Never use personal pronouns such as 'I' or 'me'. Instead of complete sentences, use short action-benefit statements, like: "Co-ordinated and published a weekly newsletter that raised awareness for local community events."

7 Make a good first impression: On average, employers spend less than 30 seconds scanning each CV. Place the interesting facts about yourself at the beginning, such as accomplishments and skills. in order of relevance. Graduates should garner this information from their part-time work experience and college projects, course work and results.

8 Quantify experience: Numbers are a powerful tool and should be used in describing part-time and voluntary work experience and highlighting achievements. Instead of writing "worked as sales assistant in a cosmetic department," say "Exceeded sales targets by 50% in cosmetic department".

9 Functional CVs: Functional CVs focus on your skills, achievements and strengths, rather than one formatted in chronological order, which may highlight gaps in your employment history.

A functional format can be used by graduates to emphasise the relevance of your experience and achievements on applying for a job that requires "something extra" to convince an employer of your suitability and accomplishments.

10 Sell your strengths: Emphasise your strengths and experience and, in the case of graduates, include summer/part-time work experience. Portray yourself in the best possible light and do not underestimate the importance of skills and strengths developed in college and from work experience.

Miriam Magner-Flynn is the managing director of Career Decisions www.careerdecisions.ie.