10 TIPS TO TOP UP YOUR CV
A TO-OF-THE-ART COMPANY RECRUITMENT OFFICER’S VIEW ON CURRICULUM VITAE
It’s only a matter of 6 seconds for you to win over the eyes and attention of the recruiter. According to the Business Insider, recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing resumes before they could be able to make an initial decision whether to shortlist you or not. Having said that, you should heighten your profile and must never leave a room for mistakes.
Writing your CV is a vital part of your success in the world of employment. It is a story of your life and it is up to you of how you create and design your story to catch your reader’s attention. When you are given a whole lot of a virtual world, how are you going to design your world? How are you going to beautify it? Same goes for writing your CV. You have to make it best but this time, back it up with facts about yourself and experience. What really is a good CV? I have done a little research about the simple complexity of the CV and how it should look like.
1. Be concise. Writing perhaps one of the most difficult tasks to some but take into consideration that when writing, information should be correct and complete in only a matter of few words. Avoid long sentences and beating around the bush. Moreover, avoid words which do not give much impact to your skills and profile as a whole. Please bear in mind that this is not a battle of how many high-sounding words or how figuratively beautiful you write, it is a matter of doing it right with the touch of simplicity and straightforward. The University of Kent researchers said that the longer and denser your CV is, the harder it is for the employer or recruiters to comprehend your achievements. Do not put many details. Only those that are really important. After all, you leave a whole lot of something left for the employer during the interview.
2. Avoid Jargons. It is better to state the information in a plain and simple English simply because it is easy to understand. It is fine to have some little technical terminologies included but it has to match the kind of industry and position that you are applying for.
3. Don’t include Objectives. It may sound silly but that should be it. When you apply for a job, it is understood that you want to be hired and that you wanted to work in an organization or whatever. This section is not necessary. Instead, write an executive summary. It is a part where you pitch in your strengths and interests perhaps, the kind of job that you are interested in. Business Insider calls it a “30-second Elevator Pitch.” It is like you put your best foot forward.
4. Do not use pronoun I. In writing, pronoun gives much impact to the quality and imagery of our articles of a short story. However; in writing a CV, avoid using the first person point of view because it is understood that everything in your CV is all about you and no one else.
5. Use of Photo. This is something that you have to think twice. In my opinion, it is not necessary to put your 2x2 picture on your resume unless you are applying to be an actor or a model. However, there are some companies which would require you to attach a photo to it then do so. British Cvs don’t usually put photograph. Same goes for the U.S.A. They believe that this may cause partiality for the equal opportunity rights and a photograph make it easier to reject a candidate because of ethnicity, gender, or age (Business Insider). If you want to include your photograph, please avoid photos that you normally upload the post on facebook with a peace hand gesture. Use a professional photo with a formal attire, head and shoulder shot and smile.
6. Use one format. There are numerous templates and formats to use in building CVs online or using MS Office. However; be very careful of using the most appropriate template and that it should still look professional. Speaking of format, be mindful of the spacing and the font style you use in writing it. Use one font style all throughout the pages. According to Daniel Scocco of the Daily Writing Tips, There is no need for you to use fancy details and designs such as colored background, fancy fonts, and images, etc. These do not give importance to the information you are presenting.
7. Work Experience comes first. Your name is on the top part of the page and your contact details and perhaps professional links, followed by your executive summary. One of the most of important parts of your CV is your Work Experience. Arrange your experience from the recent to the oldest. However, if you are well-experienced employees, do not include your half-century ago experience. It does not give much importance to a 15 or 20-year experienced employee.
8. Educational Background is written at the bottom unless you are a fresh graduate and that it is very important for the employer to know your degree prior to shortlisting you. Work experience should be highlighted and that is the common trend in hiring employees with experience.
9. Be truthful. No matter how good you feel about yourself if everything you have written in your resume is lies, there’s a great chance for you to be caught red-handed not to mention the fact that it is unethical. Do not put skills that you are not good at or you have zero knowledge about unless you want to look stupid when the recruiter ask you try or explain it further. Facts and facts alone.
10. Have a final touch. This means that you have to care good care of the English aspects of your resume. Double or triple check the grammar, spelling, and punctuations. Though there are some electronic devices and programs to use in detecting mistakes, they are not hundred percent accurate. It is advisable to read it many times or ask someone to read and edit it for you because you don’t want to give the employer a bad impression about you.
All these information should be swell-written because it is very vital in getting yourself hired. As I always say, the talent market is very competitive nowadays and you may want to consider them if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
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