cv writing help

cv writing help

CV Writing Tips and Tricks

1. Introduction

CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a brief account of your personal and professional qualifications, experience and skills. It’s much more flexible than a Resume – it can be changed and updated to apply for many job opportunities. Because of this, it’s important to tailor your CV to your chosen vocation or career path – often including multiple different versions. Always bear in mind the needs of the employer and try to clearly present what would make you a worthwhile employee. A good CV is a delicate balance between modesty and confidence, and it’s all about marketing yourself. This guide will show you time-tested strategies and advice to writing a successful CV. Follow it and in no time you will have a professional looking, well-structured CV that will have future employers impressed at the sight of it; and impressed with you!

Are you looking for your first job, a career change, or perhaps it’s been a while since your last employment? Regardless of the reason, a well-written CV is essential. It shows that you have the necessary qualifications and skills for the job for which you are applying. It’s the first impression a prospective employer has of you – make it count!

2. Understanding the Purpose of a CV

It is crucial to recognize why an employer may choose you over someone else, and establishing this may become your CV’s primary purpose. It will automatically be your skills and experience that an employer is looking for, but it is how you present and display those on paper that determines whether or not you are the right person for the job. It is this concept here that is not comprehended by most at the job application stage, and yet, it is the single most important factor as to why an employer should employ you. Now, if you understand how important it is to present your skills well on your CV, you are starting to understand the reason.

Your curriculum vitae is a marketing document. Although it is something that is alluded to in numerous resume tips, it’s actually your CV is the very best million dollar industrial on paper. You’re promoting you! Take into account that when you are writing your CV, it is the promoter of you that will get you to the interview table. Interview time is when you’ll ultimately be paid. The CV is only the tool to get you there. Step one when understanding the purpose of a CV is for you to get employed. A good CV is ultimately the tool that will help you sell yourself to potential employers, and this could result in an interview that will get you the job you want.

3. Crafting an Attention-Grabbing CV

A basic resume should contain the following headings: Objective – This should be specific and should show exactly how you meet the requirements of the job. A general objective is not what the employer wants to read. Profile – This is a summary of your skills, knowledge and experience. It should be a strong selling statement that is targeted to the specific position. Employment history – In reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job. Ensure that you include the company name, your job title and the dates that you were employed there. Duties and achievements should be listed for each role. Education and training – Again, in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the qualification, the institution and the dates. Ensure that you include any courses that are relevant to the job. Other skills – This could include languages, computer skills, volunteering etc. Try to relate these to the job. Finally, always remember to include references. This is a good idea as an employer may contact your referee without asking you, and it is also wise to write “references available on request” to avoid your referee being contacted too early in the job application process.

You must remember that a resume is a tool to gain an interview, not a biography. Keep the content short, sharp and to the point. Eliminate any irrelevant information, as it will only distract the employer and it could cost you an interview. Choose a style that highlights your strengths – for example if you have a lengthy employment history, a chronological resume might be easier to read, but if you want to highlight your career change, you might want to opt for a functional or combination resume. Always ensure that your resume is tailored to the specific industry and or job that you are applying for. This is very important! Employers want to know what you can do for them, a general resume will not show them that. Always maintain honesty – exaggeration or lies on a resume will get you nowhere.

Most employers spend about 20 seconds or less reviewing a resume, so the saying “first impressions are lasting impressions” certainly holds true when it comes to submitting a resume. A strong resume will help you to stand out from the crowd and will help to create a favorable first impression. What can you do to create a strong resume?

4. Highlighting Your Skills and Experience

A resume that lingers in the past with the “back in the day at Y I did Z” sort of story isn’t very marketable. The X’s being sold should always be linked to the future job or else there is no point in selling them. People often make the mistake of making a simple “job description” under the assumption that the reader won’t know what the job was. The resume should sell the skills used in those jobs and show the quality of work that was done, all in a curiosity-inducing manner such that in an eventual interview, the interviewer will have something to ask about. This may be hard to do for the first jobs a person has held and in such cases a little discretion may be necessary to avoid selling the wrong skill set.

One very effective way of listing all your X’s is to use a table with 2 columns. In the left column list your skills and experience in order of the relevance your next employer would place on them. In the right column list dates and types of experience. The person who reads your resume will be able to absorb easily a large amount of info about your past short of reading every word. This will have the effect of drawing in the reader who is specifically interested in what you are selling because the employer will be able to see that you have what he is looking for. Always remember who your target audience is. A good table of skills and experience makes a single resume suitable for targeting various different jobs. Different copies of a resume may be needed for different types of jobs and the resume should be tailored such that the skills and experience being sold are the skills and experience that need to be bought in order to get the desired job.

You want your skills and experience to stand out. In most organizations, you’ll have a number of people competing for a job. Your resume is a kind of advertisement. You want the employer to think, “I would like to hire this person.” You should be the first person that comes to mind whenever the particular skills you are advertising are needed. This can be accomplished by clearly and forcefully stating important and distinctive skills and specifying the days, months, and years of experience you have had with them. The reader should be able to see at a glance what you are best at. He/she should be able to easily find information that answers such questions as, “Is this candidate experienced in X? How long has he done X? Was he any good at it? In what types of organizations has he done X?” Lining up your skills and experience in a way that answers these questions will take advance planning. Always keep your next job in mind and the skills and experience needed to get it.

5. Finalizing and Perfecting Your CV

You need to think about the layout and design of your CV. It should be easy to read, so be sure to use clear headings for each section, and allow plenty of white space. Allowing for wide margins and leaving large spaces between different sections of the CV, and between text and headings can give the document plenty of space and a clean feel. Be sure to check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Any errors in your CV could be a reason for a company not to employ you, as it demonstrates a lack of attention to detail. A well-written, error-free CV suggests that you will also be a very good candidate for the job!

By now, you should have listed all of your experiences and qualifications. It’s time to make sure that your CV has been perfectly written and structured; this is the last chance to make sure that you get that interview. First of all, you should make sure that the length is right. If you filled many pages with a lot of detail, try cutting down to two pages. Be aware of information that may be too detailed and irrelevant to the position. If too long, assessments of your CV may be postponed or not done at all!