CV's are called a variety of things (eg, curriculum vitae, resume). There is no universally accepted format. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them. Your CV should be:
- A well-presented, selling document
- A source of interesting, relevant information
- A script for talking about yourself
The purpose of your CV is not to get you the job. Its purpose is to get you an interview, and after your meeting to remind the person you met with about you. Remember: you are not writing a CV for yourself, you are writing it for the reader. So, as you write your CV, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader.
This section takes you through the content and detail of effective CVs:
- A standard two-page printed CV
- A one-page summary CV
- An online CV
The decision to recruit is like a buying decision on the part of an employer. This creates a very clear picture of what a CV must include:
It must meet the needs of the target organisation where possible. This means a single generalist CV is unlikely to be sufficient.
It must highlight your achievements and how they relate to the job you are applying for. It must give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for this role.
To decide what to include in your CV and where, follow these principles and guidelines:
Generally, the document should contain no more than 2 pages. Sometimes, a one page summary is all that is required.
Your CV should be honest and factual.
The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily.
Choose a presentation format that allows you to headline key skills, key achievements or key attributes.
Your employment history should commence with your current or most recent job and work backwards.
Achievements should be short, bullet-pointed statements and include your role, the action you took and a comment on the result of your action.
Where information clearly demonstrates your suitability for the vacancy you're applying for, and enhances your chances of being short-listed, include this information near the beginning of the CV.
Leave out information that is irrelevant or negative.
Include details of recent training or skills development events you have attended which could be relevant.
List all your professional memberships and relevant qualifications.
As we work through examples in this section, we will continually refer back to these principles and guidelines.
The most common contents of a CV include:
- Personal Details
- Skills and Career Summary
- Key Achievements
- Qualifications
- Career History
Don't forget: The ultimate test of YOUR CV is whether it meets the needs of the person making the buying decision, and whether YOU feel comfortable with its content and style.
The next few pages will provide a detailed description of how to achieve this.
When you submit a printed CV to a recruiter or a potential employer, it is likely to be the first thing they get to see or read of yours. Therefore, you need to present your CV well and make it user friendly. For example:
Use a good quality paper, typically 100gsm in weight and watermarked. In most cases, be conservative and print your CV in black ink on white paper. Covering letters should use identical stationery.
Lay your CV out neatly
Don't make the margins too deep or too narrow
Resist writing lengthy paragraphs - be concise
Careful use of bold type can be effective
Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial are fairly standard
Do not use a type size less than 11pt.
Check for spelling or typographical errors - whoever actually types your CV, errors are YOUR responsibility. Don't rely on a spell checker. If you're not sure about a word, resort to a dictionary. Sloppiness and lack of care could be heavily penalised.
Key Skills/Competencies/Attributes:
Summarise the things about you that are relevant to this role. You can present the information as a list of achievements, a summary of skills, or a list of key competencies (this choice should be made in consultation with your career consultant). Give as much evidence as you can to suggest that you are suited to the career that you are pursuing. A reminder: You will find a list of your skills in the summary pages.
The one-page summary CV may also include one or two of the following sections if you consider they enhance your application.
Complete Guide on CV Preparation
What makes a good CV?
Introduction
A good CV sells you to an employer and gets you an interview.
Use positive statements about yourself.
Use a computer to produce your CV.
Use section headings to make information easy to find.
Choose information that presents you in the best way.
Change the order of the information to your advantage.
Make use of bullet points and keep sentences short.
Check your spelling and grammar.
Keep your CV up to date.
Try to keep your CV to two sides of A4 and print it on good quality paper (single-sided).
A good CV is one that gets you an interview! It has to be relevant to the job you’re appling for, or to the organisation you’re sending it to.
A good CV should contain positive, selected information about your skills, qualifications and experience. It should make the person reading it be interested in finding out more about you.
Your CV needs to be well presented and easy to read; the reader should be able to find all the information they need without searching around the document. Using section headings should make this easier.
It should always be up to date and accurate. Don’t stretch the truth or put anything on your CV that you can’t back up with evidence.
You should use a computer to produce your CV. If you don’t have access to one, try your local library.
Use the past tense for previous experience, and try not to use ‘I’. For example, put ‘Supervised five people’ rather than ‘I supervised five people’.
Don’t use long sentences or paragraphs. Try to make use of bullet points to list things like skills and achievements where you can. Set out your information in columns, tables or neat rows. You could use Bold to make a few key points, but don’t underline headings or text.
You should always check what you have written, and then check it again. Check your spelling and grammar (use the spellchecker and a dictionary). Make use of IT, but don’t be a slave to it. Beware of American spellings and words that sound the same but are spelt differently.
When you have checked it, ask a friend or relative to check it. Try reading it out loud to make sure it all makes sense. Careless mistakes on your CV will usually result in rejection.
The person reading your CV will only spend a very short time looking at it. So, it should be as short as you can make it, without losing any important information. Don’t waste valuable space with unnecessary words (like putting Curriculum Vitae at the top – it’s obvious that it’s a CV!).
Make your CV sound professional; don’t go for the humorous approach.
Guidelines suggest that the ideal length is no more than two sheets of A4, or equivalent. This will depend on your experience and the job you’re applying for.
Unless you are applying for certain artistic, graphic design or similar jobs, don’t be tempted to use fancy fonts, colours, layouts, headings or borders. And you don’t need to attach a photograph unless you’re applying for modelling jobs, or unless the employer has asked you to.
If you are emailing your CV to an employer, you could firstly email it to yourself to make sure that it is in the correct format when opened as an attachment.
Online recruitment agencies usually allow you to attach your CV to their registration page.
Printing your CV
You might need to send a paper copy of your CV off in the post, or you might need paper copies to hand in at recruitment agencies, for example.
Don’t print your CV double-sided; print each sheet on a separate piece of paper. Research has shown that anything on the back might get missed.
Choose the best quality paper that you can, and don’t fold your CV if you can help it. White or cream paper with black type seems to be the preferred choice for employers.
Always print a fresh copy of your CV each time; don’t photocopy it. Otherwise, it will look as though you have just run off lots of standard CVs and not given any thought to this particular vacancy or employer.
It will not help you to put your finished CV in a folder, binder or any other presentation stationery – it will make it harder for the person reading it to keep it in the pile of other CVs. Just staple the two sheets together and put your covering letter on top.
Apply Now - Resume or CV with Job Post Title
Email: jobs@aarenconsultants.in
What does your CV say about you?
So what does your CV say about you?
Your CV is one of the most important documents that you will ever have to create in your life. And yet, many people spend no more than an hour creating their CV!
Perhaps their CVs are accurate then? Maybe their entire work history can be hastily written in an hour - all their skills, knowledge, qualifications, interests and experience! Or are they just underselling themselves?
Take a step back from your CV
Think about it for a minute. You are giving these few sheets of paper to a complete stranger and hope they will help you change your life! Sure, you know what you meant in that summary you wrote....but do they?
Often, people miss out certain important aspects of their capabilities because they assume that the person reading the CV will know what they meant. But is this the case? Not always.
Try to step back from your CV and think about what you have wrote. Pretend a complete stranger handed it to you and have a think about what your CV really says about you. Consider even passing it to a friend or relative and ask them to read over it.
This is particularly effective with people who don't know much about your profession - chances are the recruiter will know just as little! Well, that usually isn't true, but if you assume it is, then you cover yourself!
Split it up
Take each section of your CV and write in on a separate document and have a look at it on its own. Remember - recruiters will be focusing on individual parts of your CV more than the CV as a whole (it's all new to them - they are reading it and learning about you for the first time).
Another benefit of doing this is that it lets you refine areas of your CV one by one - I don't know about you, but my tendency used to be to jump from section to section, doing little bits here and there. This can lead to your CV having an inconsistent feel.
Do you like what you read?
Having read your CV as if it weren't your own, can you honestly say you liked what you read? Is the person you describe on your CV the kind of person you would hire for the job you are applying for?
What have you missed? What does the person lack that you have?
Summary
Don't just churn out a CV and send it out to apply for jobs. It's a very important part of your job search and if you don't get it right, you will get more practice because you will be applying for lots of jobs!
Recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reviewing a CV
We recently undertook a study by interviewing several hundred recruiters and headhunters to find out what they are saying about CVs. So what are the recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a CV and what is going to get a CV read by them?
20 - Burying or Not Including Important Information in the Resume
Candidates often leave off very important and critical experience/information that is pertinent to the job they are seeking. Just as bad is to include this important info but burying it so deep into the resume the recruiter will not see it.
No recruiter has the time to play Sherlock Holmes to figure out a candidate's background. Jobseekers must be aware that recruiters receive literally hundreds of resumes a day and spend only about 10 seconds "skimming" through each resume.
This is why it is imperative that if a job seeker possesses the requirements of the position, that they GRAB the recruiter's attention IMMEDIATELY with these skills/experience.
The best scenario is to customize each and every resume that is sent out and tailor it to the "hot buttons" that will catch the employer/recruiters attention within 5-10 seconds.
19 - Gaps in Employment
Employers are probably going to be a bit more understanding than in the past regarding gaps of employment because of all of the corporate layoffs, reductions, etc. However, holes or gaps in dates in a resume will solicit questions from employers and recruiters alike, so be prepared to answer. Even if you took a sabbatical for personal reasons, it is a good idea to state such.
18 - Resumes Written in the 1st or 3rd Person
A resume should not be written in the first person. No recruiter or future employer wants to read a resume full of "I did this and I did that..." Furthermore, writing a resume in the first person often leads to it becoming too verbose.
Writing a resume in the third person was also slated a major "pet peeve" among many recruiters. A resume is simply a quick marketing piece about the job seeker's background and how it matches the requirements of the position. It is not a biography for a book jacket cover. For example: "Mr. Smith is an excellent recruiter, who has placed many Architects..."
17 - No Easy to Follow Summary
A resume has to GRAB the reader from the get go. If a resume does not convey a match within 10 seconds, they move to the next candidate. An effective summary section will help the recruiter identify if the job seeker is a viable candidate for the position quicker. This summary section can be customised to the position you are applying.
For candidates of a technical nature, it is imperative that a Technical Summary is also compiled. Make sure that these technical skills are clearly laid out and current. When creating this tech summary, be careful not to create a long list of “alphabet soup” no one will ever read or understand.
16 - Pictures, Graphics or URL Links
Unless you are a super model or are applying to a position such as an actor or TV personality that might require a “headshot,” there is absolutely no need to include your picture. A candidate should be judged based on their skills, education and work history, not race, sex, age, etc.
In addition, sending a picture only increases the file size and download time of your resume. Much the same goes for graphics and endless URL links.
Furthermore, because of the fear of computer viruses, many recruiting departments are set up not to accept graphics, pictures, downloadable files, etc. Your resume in that case will just be deleted before it is even opened. In the case of URL links, they just clutter up your resume and no recruiter will ever spend time “clicking” on these links.
15 - Resumes not sent as a WORD Attachment
Unless specifically requested otherwise, your resume should be sent as a Word Attachment. Do not send your resume as a PDF, Mac file, etc. A recruiter simply does do not have time to download and convert special files. In addition, do not send your resume in a ZIP file. No resume should be 60 pages long period.
Unless you are a graphic designer or multi-media developer, no recruiter will spend time going to your “homepage” to download your resume. Even if you are a graphic designer, you still need a Word attachment resume. So if you are an accountant, engineer, etc. do not try to be fancy, because no recruiter has the time or desire to call up homepage.
Another top reason for avoiding formats other than Word or a plain text file is that it becomes increasingly more difficult to download into many HR and recruiting systems. Often a recruiter will not have a job for you today. If they cannot enter your resume into their recruiting system, they will be unable to match your resume with any positions that do become available. This also goes for mailed and faxed resumes. Unless specifically requested otherwise, recruiters are looking for easy to open Word Attachments.
Recruiter TIP ... many recruiters shared with us that it is always a good idea to name your Word Attachment “Smith, John Resume”. Recruiters have no time to “guess” the author of the attachment.
14 - Poor Font Choice
Keep your font simple and easy to read on a computer screen. Do not use italics or extremely difficult to read fonts like Edwardian Script. Font size is just as important as style. 8-point fonts are too small to read, even for Superman.
Microsoft seems to have settled on 10 point Arial as their default font in most of their applications. People are accustomed to reading such on their computer screen. For headings, recruiters shared that 12-point bolded is the best choice.
Recruiters told us that that second best choice is Times Roman as every newspaper and magazine is printing with such. Once again, people’s eyes are accustomed to reading text in this font.
However, 10-point Times Roman, (unlike Arial), is too small for a computer screen. It is recommended if you choose Times Roman, use 11 or 12 point.
13 - Objectives or Meaningless Introductions
Instead of an Objective that can pigeonhole your focus too narrowly or an introduction that adds nothing to your background, use this top piece of real estate to really SELL yourself, by creating a HEADLINE.
Tell them who you are and what you do immediately. Come up with one powerful sentence or phrase to "grab" your reader. Think of this like a headline to a major front-page news story. What is going to grab that reader to want to read further?
Senior-Level Health and Safety Manager with Extensive Experience Working with FDA Regulations in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Arena.
Recruiter Tip: This headline can be customized to match the job description and "hot-buttons" of the employer or recruiter.
12 - Lying or Misleading Information
We all know the temptation is there to beef up your background by stretching the truth here and there to land that job. BEWARE! It is becoming more commonplace for companies to do extensive background and reference checks on a candidate’s background prior to hiring. Also, companies are demanding that their vendor recruiters do more extensive background checks.
Recruiters stated the most common misleading information being put on CVs is:
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Inflated titles
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Inaccurate dates to cover up job hopping or gaps of employment
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1/2 finished degrees, inflated education or "purchased" degrees that do not mean anything
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Inflated salaries
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Inflated accomplishments
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Out and out lies in regards to specific roles and duties
11 – Employer or Industry Information Not Included
It is suggested that your resume specifically state the type of industry, revenues, public or private in the body or beneath the specific company. This will help the reader determine if it's a direct industry OR an ancillary industry.
Recruiter Tip: Another idea is to bullet-point in your summary the specific industry experience the recruiter is seeking.
10 – Personal Info Not Relevant to the Job
Not only is including personal info that is unrelated to the job a waste of space, but it can actually hurt you. Recruiters do not need to know your age, height, weight, martial status, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliations, or even about your hobbies. They are trying to fill an open job requisition, not match you for a blind date.
9 – Candidates Who Apply to Positions They are Unqualified
In order to gain experience in an area, you need to start out somewhere, and recruiters understand this. Recruiters do not have time to sort through hundreds of resumes that are in no way a match for the requirements they are trying to fill.
When someone submits an obviously unqualified resume, the person receiving it resents them wasting their time. It also delays the consideration of other applicants who ARE qualified.
Recruiter Tip: The easiest remedy is to provide a simple introductory statement ‘while my qualifications do not match your requirements, please accept the attached for your files in anticipation of future, suitable opportunities’".
8 - Long Paragraphs
Recruiters want a résumé's details to be short, concise and to the point. No recruiter has the time to read long paragraphs, which look like a narrative out of War and Peace.
Make sure you quickly get to the "meat" of what you are trying to communicate about yourself. Your resume should be easy for the reader to "scan" your text for your skills and accomplishments. Consider using the following formatting techniques:
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Use blunt, paraphrased bullet-points
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Use appropriate amounts of "white space" to help guide your reader
7 – Long Resumes
A CV should never be more than 2 pages. Situations that usually contribute to long resumes are; too many jobs; a career that is not focused, an inability to be concise, written communication problems, or something similar. All of which make for an 'UNPLACEABLE' candidate.
No matter how tempting it is to go into detail about the first job you had 25 years ago, don’t! Instead, let your resume showcase your most recent accomplishments. Recruiters are only reviewing the last 5-8 years of your career, 10 tops.
If you are a recent graduate with limited professional work experience, your resume should be only one page. If you are from academia, but are seeking a position in industry, do not include every publication or journal paper you have ever presented.
Recruiter Tip: For employment beyond 10 years ago, create a "Previous Employment" section. You can quickly list your older assignments by simply including title, company and dates.
6 – Functional Resumes
A very good way to NOT get your resume read is by sending them a "functional CV”.
Recruiter Tip: At the top of your resume, always include an easy to follow general/functional summary. Use bullet-points that can be easily customised to match what the employer is seeking. Hand your reader what they are looking for on a silver platter. Find out what are the “hot buttons” of the employer and make every one hit a home run. Immediately following your summary, provide your reader with an easy to follow chronological history of where you worked and when. It is here you need to detail your accomplishments.
5 – Poor Formatting
It is paramount that your resume is clean, clear and not full of major formatting errors. Most candidates are unaware that many formatting features will not view well on a computer screen, and more importantly, will not download properly into many HRIS recruiting systems or job boards.
Recruiter Tip: To see what your WORD document resume will look like as a text file, take it and paste it into NOTEPAD. You can then make any minor formatting changes as necessary within NOTEPAD.
3 – Dates Not Included or Inaccurate Dates
A resume that does not include dates sends up "red flags" about a candidate’s background and is immediately tossed out. The obvious assumption is that the candidate is trying to hide something. Furthermore, be honest about your dates of employment.
Recruiter Tip: When providing dates, work history should be in reverse chronological order. The general consensus among recruiters is to place the employer info, title and location to the left hand side of the screen. Your employment dates should be aligned to the right so that your reader can easily “skim” down the page. And if you have a proven track record of staying with a job for a while, absolutely make sure that your employment dates JUMP out at your reader. This is a real selling point about you as a candidate.
2 – Too Duty Oriented
The second most common complaint among recruiters was reading a resume that is "too duty oriented." Resumes need to describe more than just job duties. A good resume must also detail your accomplishments. Mention the business benefits and results attributable to your direct effort, involvement or leadership.
Also, do not just rely on long lists of buzzwords to describe work or accomplishments. Not only are you risking "burying" the important details from your reader, but also doing so often makes a resume appear too generic.
Recruiter Tip: "Do not separate your skills and accomplishments from each position. Someone should be able to look at it and know what you did at each job, and how long you were there. Make sure to provide specific examples of how the company benefited from your performance. Accomplishments should be quantified in pounds or percentages, for example, (Increased productivity of department). From what to what...1%, 10%, 90%?
1 – Spelling Errors, Typos, and Poor Grammar
In the world of technology and ‘Spell Check’, you would be amazed at how many resumes come through with errors! Candidates need to remember that their resume represents them! If there are careless errors, it directly reflects on the candidate.
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