Just about everybody uses Times New Roman. It's the default for Microsoft Word, and although it's perfectly serviceable as a typeface, there are better choices. Perhaps as someone with graphic design and typography training, I'm biased - but steering clear of the default is always a good way to make your CV more distinctive.

I'd stick to serifed typefaces for most purposes - there is a wealth of professional looking, readable faces suitable for using in a CV. Classics such as Garamond or Caslon are good, but delve into your font collection and suit what suits your needs and image best.


Long CVs, along with the closely related CVs-set-in-a-6pt-font, are not the best way to present yourself, even if you do have a massive repertoire of skills. If a CV is too long, you can pretty much guarantee it won't be read - 2 pages is the standard allowance, and works just fine for most people. If you find yourself slipping into smaller font sizes to make it fit, or you are considering going to three pages (or beyond) - you might want to cut out some of the content.

Learning new skills is a great way to improve your career prospects - but it isn't quite as simple as completing a course or reading a book from cover-to-cover. These techniques are great at laying the cornerstones of competency, to become fully skilled in an area of expertise will require three phases.

The first is to establish the key structures of the skill - to understand a topic, you must first establish the breadth of the subject, any allied skills, and build a basic understanding of the key principles involved. From here, the second stage is to establish a self-contained understanding of the core skills, and develop the ability to research and resolve any problems you may have in implementing the skill. Finally, the latter process of skills building is refinement - slowly honing and expanding the scope of your knowledge as you use it in a professional capacity.

As an IT professional, the skills you use for your job are your most valuable asset - most gainful employment within the sector relies on some specialist knowledge. Whether from experience or education, the things you have learned define the job you can do.

It is safe to say that any investment in your skills is worthwhile, then - expanding your knowledge of things IT related will help greatly in developing your career - cementing and diversifying your current role (with greater chances for advancement) and improving your prospects for later roles as well.



The dangers of over-specialisation

The detriments of a narrow skill set are all too obvious, then - technology is a fast moving sector to work in, so if you don't keep your skills up to date you could get stuck in a legacy support dead end, or worse - find yourself replaced with a new wave of fresh faced developers toting the latest buzzwords and paradigms.

That's not to say that a certain degree of focus can't be a bad thing - if you're amongst the few real experts in a niche area, you can certainly make a very tidy profit - but all the same it is wise to be sensitive to the evolving landscape of IT. If you're in a receding area of expertise, over-specialising can be dangerous.

Certain subcultures in tech can breed this kind of lack of adaptability - those in the almost self-contained Java and .NET worlds are more vulnerable than most. Being involved in a close community is largely a good thing, at least as far as support is concerned - but it's not hard to become isolated from other areas and miss out on some of the more up-and-coming languages, platforms and techniques.

Being a 'jack-of-all-trades' isn't much better

Keeping an open mind to new technologies can pay dividends - but it's wise to be at least slightly cautious. Overzealous chasing of the bleeding edge can lead to a lack of depth to your knowledge - which will adversely affect your skill set as a whole.

Challenge yourself. Expend at least some time broadening your knowledge into adjacent sectors. But never forget the core skills that define your role today - use them as a base, not something disposable to discard at the first sign of change in an industry.

While the life of a technology worker can be fast paced, the changes that come about are evolutionary - and with the right mindset, and with a little effort expended to keep your awareness fresh, you can do well.

So you've been offered a job - either through an application / interview process, via an agency or a direct recommendation.

Great news, right? Usually, yes - at least assuming you were looking for a new position in the first place. But what if the offer is out of the blue? Should you take the risk of switching jobs for the benefit of your career, or is it better to play it safe?

As a web professional, I've found myself in both full time positions and in freelancing roles - and most IT skills-led jobs can be fit to either pattern. While the majority of people working in IT are in more conventional permanent (or at least, semi-permanent) roles, freelancing can prove to be a lucrative and challenging type of career move.

While the economic climate may be a little bit discouraging at the moment, if you fancy going freelance it's probably not a bad time to bide your time and make plans for the day that you do decide to go it alone. The freedom you gain from working for yourself can be most rewarding, although you do lose much of the comfort of a regular 9 to 5 position.

It is important, then to hedge your bets and be prepared - and there are a few things you might just need to consider. The first - and most immediate - is your finances, particularly on day one.

Savings & Finances

You can't just dive straight into freelancing work - inevitably it will take time to build clients, and during this time you'll still have all your usual expenses. It's typically recommended that you about 6 months worth of your salary - at least 6 months living expenses - in reserve, before you even start thinking about heading out on your own.

You also need to seriously consider cutting down costs - pay off any extraneous debts, be sure you're not paying too much on a car loan or mortgage, and generally cut back as far as you can without it infringing on your ability to do work. Low expenses and a healthy amount of capital to fall back on will both help get your freelancing career off the ground. If things get rough, you'll need a cushion until the situation improves.

A Good Portfolio

A portfolio is vital for those working in an area remotely creative or production-based - from designers to programmers, web-oriented or otherwise. If you don't have the means to show off the things you can do, you'll struggle to sell yourself.

It doesn't necessarily have to be of epic proportion - just a couple of strong examples of your work should suffice to impress, but it is this proven ability that will close deals. If you're looking to freelance, get a portfolio and make it available to as many people as possible. Solid examples of your own work that are demonstrable are invaluable.

A Means of Client Acquisition

Important one, this - you need to think long and hard about exactly how you plan to snare work. When you're first starting out, this will take up the bulk of your time, so it's important to be aware of the avenues through which you can get work.

Simply putting together a quick website and printing some business cards won't be enough - you'll need to take a more proactive tack if you are to succeed. The traditional means - endless telephone calls to prospective clients - can work, but the internet opens a few more doors in terms of hooking up with those people who might require your services.

Freelance job sites, viral marketing, blogging, participation in social media, forums, etc. Are all good ways of increasing awareness and getting contacts - some are better than others, and can be dependent on specific situations, but the internet does provide a lot of good ways for getting work. The trick is to be flexible, try new approaches - and with a spot of luck, you might just be able to get a steady stream of new clients.

Pre-Existing Clients

Even better than a plan to get new clients is a pre-existing set of clients. There's no reason why you can't start to dip your toes into the world of freelancing whilst remaining in full-time employment - and if you can slowly build up a client base in your spare time, you'll find the transition to freelancing full-time much more easy.

It can be a bit of a chicken/egg type conundrum, as working full time can hamper your ability to get clients, but it's certainly not impossible to take on smaller jobs in your spare time, get some good contacts, and a little spare cash in the meantime. It does, of course, mean a little extra stress and a few more hours to the working week in the interim.

I wouldn't recommend forgoing the above point regarding the acquisition of further clients - new customers are always a benefit (assuming you have spare capacity to handle them) - and there's no guarantee that today's clients will return tomorrow.

'The Right Stuff'

Freelancing can be very hard work if you're not cut out for it. You need to be equally strong on all the fronts required - you need to be technically competent, a self-motivated and quick worker, boast great communication skills and politeness with your clients, and take a more direct, brash approach to selling your skills.

It's a heady mix - and not everyone can pull it off. You have to be sure you can make it work, else you might find yourself in a position where you can sustain yourself but naught more - a stalemate between paying the bills and excelling in a freelance role.

You also may have to accept failure - sometimes there simply isn't the market for a specific skill set in any given area - or it could be the case that there's an oversaturation of your skills. In either case, you may have to try a different approach.

Get it right, though - and you'll be laughing. An unfettered work schedule, no boss and the potential for unlimited riches? It might not always work out quite as planned - but with freelancing there is always potential for such opportunity, given that you're motivated enough and can cope with the strain of working for yourself.

Being stuck in a dead-end career is never any fun - and IT is laden with ample opportunity for stagnation. Here are a few situations that your career could be at a standstill - if any of these are familiar then you might like to consider a change!

Pittance-Grade General Purpose IT Dogsbody

You work for a small company; the IT team comprises of you, and maybe a couple of others. You are expected to do everything from desktop support through designing the company's website to administering the servers. Despite this responsibility you aren't given much respect - just an endless string of inane IT-related odd jobs.

You are paid less than most of the other staff at the company - but this is one of your first jobs, you're young and it's a good chance to hone your general-purpose IT skills before you finally hand in your notice and go for a job that values your technical ability (in theory, at least).

Inept Corporate Developer

Inept is probably a little cruel, but the corporate development environment can certain conceal a certain degree of incompetence. In a world where performance is dictated by sheer volume of code, rather than quality, the subpar programmer can survive - even thrive if they possess the sufficient skills in the blaggard department.

There is the danger for any developer caught up in the corporate world to get complacent - but it's only really dangerous when you don't realise it. If you keep yourself aware of the outside world (at least as far as IT is concerned), keep your skills keen and keep innovating, you might just be alright.

Technical Middle Management

You're in charge of a small team, tucked away in an office somewhere, churning out an endless string of meaningless projects to keep the higher-ups happy: The life of such a middle manager is about as mundane as it gets. Once upon a time you were a developer, but now you spend most of your time in meetings and conference calls in a boring and repetitive cycle ad infinitum.

The endless string of work you'll be mired in will eventually wear you down, and if you don't make a break for it you might be stuck in middle-management limbo forever. Just remember: it's never too late to make a break for the next rung up the ladder - perhaps in your next position you won't just be another cog in the machine?

Serial Freelancer

Always busy, the serial freelancer takes on a never ending cascade of minor tasks in order to pay the bills. Never seeming to mind that they're missing out on more lucrative jobs, they're happy to keep on churning through site after site for small businesses and individuals alike.

Unfortunately such small jobs may mean such a freelancer becomes firmly lodged in the same position, always busy but never bringing in sufficient profit to grow. For all the effort in the world, barely paying the mortgage doesn't seem worth it. Perhaps joining an agency or forming a partnership with another like-minded freelancer might enable you to tackle more interesting projects?

Legacy Architecture Dinosaur

So you've stuck around in the same position for a few years, and you know how things work. In fact, you're the only person who does. The company depends on your intimate knowledge of legacy code and systems in order to keep things ticking over. Never mind the fact that your skills are outdated, you've a comfortable position (which is potentially well paid, for fear that you'll leave and take your irreplaceable knowledge with you).

Being the dinosaur in a company is a dead end, perhaps - but it can pay well. If you can put up with incessant maintenance on all sorts of insignificant systems, and cope with being perpetually burnt out, then legacy maintenance could be well suited to you.

On the other hand, perhaps it's time to dig yourself out of that rut? A new challenge is a great way to reinvigorate a career, and to stave off burnout. We might all feel like we're in a dead end from time to time - it's unavoidable for all but the most  fortunate - but if your working life is a perpetual drag, a shift in your career could put you on the right track again.

Layout & Margins

Keep your margins generous. There's nothing worse than too much information crammed into a small space - long line lengths will hamper readability. It is best to have ample space on all sides, with the bottom margin generally being the largest.

If in doubt, keep the default. In most situations, you'll want to preserve the default margin settings. In most applications the default margin settings will be optimal for the paper size you specify. 

Consider columns for presentation. Certain sections of your CV, such as your work or education history, will benefit from a columnar layout. Doing so can provide a more logical, yet compact approach. Avoid splitting long paragraphs over columns - keep columns for summarised information, and stick to paragraphs for longer text.

Keep spacing between elements - particularly between sections where you've used a different layout (i.e. the transition from columns to paragraphed text). Whitespace helps keep the distinction between different sections, and is particular important if you're varying the layout style.

Tools

The tools you use will reflect in the final output and format of your CV. Much will depend on which tools you have available, but it's good to be aware of the alternatives.

Microsoft Word

The default choice for most people. Indeed, in some cases your CV may be required to be in Word format - in such a case you have little choice but to endure Word.

Word does benefit from its availability and relative ease of use - but in terms of flexibility and the level of control it gives over layout, Word does suffer when compared to more design-focused packages.

Note that using digital word documents will restrict the fonts you can use to all but the default - a problem if you elect to use a custom font.

Open Office

For those on a budget, Open Office is a good choice as a Word alternative. It boasts many of the same features, and a certain degree of compatibility with Word documents - but suffers in the same respects as Word with regard to embedded font support and flexibility over layout.

LaTeX

Not the natural rubber, but rather a very powerful typesetting engine that has enduring popularity within academic and technical writing circles. LaTeX is capable of handling all the details of perfect typesetting for you - but it isn't WSYWIG, and has a relatively steep learning curve.

You can create very attractive PDF files through LaTeX though - and while it isn't entirely suited to CV generation in its default, non-enhanced form, there are a number of macros and templates available that help it tackle the task of CV markup.

InDesign / Quark Xpress

As far as design control is concerned, there are no better options than InDesign (ideally) or Quark Xpress (less so). Both are used in professional page layout situations, and their power with regard to layout is second to none.

If you require custom fonts, and the ability to control miniscule typographical details (kerning, line heights and sizes accurate to fractions of a point) - then the power of such layout packages provides exactly what you need.

Again, there is quite a learning curve - but if you put in the effort to become good with InDesign or similar, there really are no limits to the layouts you can pull off.

Emphasis

Your CV cannot comprise of two sides plain, unadorned text - you need to break a potential essay into easily digestible chunks. Careful use of headings, breaks and other tricks can help break up a wall of text into a beautiful hierarchy of naturally presented information.

A larger type size is the perfect way to draw the reader's eye to headings - and coupled with a judicious amount of spacing will serve to break the document in a pleasing fashion. It's best not to use too large a font, however - just a few points more will suffice. If your body text is 8 or 10pt, your headings should be somewhere about 16pt in size - no more than double the size of your body text.

Underlines and outlines can also help - if used judiciously. I'd probably recommend against using text underlines in most circumstances (italics is best for emphasis), but a page rule (a line across the page) can make for an effective page break, particularly for a major section break or following columnar or tabular data.

Bold and italic are also two very important tools in your emphatic arsenal - headings should be bold where suitable, and certain passages in text can be highlighted in bold. Italics serve less as a highlight and more as a softer emphasis - for instance, in cases where a certain differentiation from the body text is required but not to the degree that bold would provide.

Avoid colour emphasis. For many of the reasons that I mentioned in the last post regarding the usage of colour - notably reproduction difficulty - but also for issues of readability and a lack of convention - colour has never historically been a source of emphasis in text, and today colour tends to be used for interactive elements (i.e. hyperlinks in web documents) rather than to provide an accent.

As with so many aspects of CV design, the trick is to be conservative - black and white trumps colour, simpler layouts and more compact structure are best, and classical typefaces are the ones to stick to. There's really no reason to attempt anything too avant-garde, when the basics are really all you need - get the basics right and you'll stand out more than you might otherwise suspect.