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The Art of crafting the best CV in the market
‘Are you a graduate? Are you a “job-seeker”? Do you wish to swift your Career path? Do you wish apply for a higher title job?’
‘Yes, done with the questions and yes, I am one of the above.’
Then you are at the right website!
We, at My Next Job, like to refer at the Curriculum Vitae (CV) as your Career identity. Your future employer/recruiter/academic supervisor, doesn’t know you, so in order to meet you (grant you an interview), you need a professionally written CV. A CV for the win, that will stand out, especially nowadays with this great competition out there! Your CV will have little time to impress. The recruiter will look at your CV and think ‘Why should I interview this person? What will they bring to our cause/faculty/organisation?’.
Whether you decide to work with an expert on writing your CV, or go solo, here follow some basics with regards to its looks! Remember, this document will be the first impression the recruiter or employer has of you. Therefore,
Honesty is everything! Qualifications, Job titles, Achievements! Employers are conducting increasingly vigorous background checks on candidates. This can range from conducting a Google search on you to employing a specialist candidate checking service!
You need a CV that has a clean and clear layout! There is no universally correct CV layout, but there are rules that should always be followed. Start by ensuring that your CV is at the correct page length. Then, keep your document clean, up-to-date and polished, keep it neat and avoid fancy graphics or images. You may think these will help your CV stand out, but they may actually hold you back as the ATS (applicant tracking system) cannot parse them. Yes, we are living in a material world and HRs use automated machines to process staff. We all need saving time, thus saving money! If cannot afford to hire an expert to help you write your winning CV, look at how others have done their CV. Ask your professors and colleagues for examples.
The one-page CV needs to inform us of your way you look yourself (summary), your contact details, your Experience Academic/Industry or both, your language and computer skills, you soft skills and interests. Start your CV with general contact information that includes your name, address, telephone, email and a hyperlink of a web page about yourself as a professional or your LinkedIn profile, for example. Then at the Body of your CV, add your education and experience information (maybe include these focused on your strengths and interests; honours and awards from post-secondary school; teaching and research interests; publications; presentations; professional activities committee memberships, intern experiences, relevant volunteer work). Then, under experience, add your skills (second language and/or computer proficiencies); and references (you may include these or indicate they are available on request). And last but not least, finish with a list of your interests. Trust me on that, your interests can hint the ‘Why are YOU the most suited for this job’ than your actual cover letter (!). It got me my Ph.D. studentship!
Your resume, an extended version of your one-page CV, should not be more than three pages; this is where you need all your magic on using power words to promote all your dids and dones the best you can! Check your CV carefully for spelling and typographical errors. Use formatting such as bullets, italics or bold font only sparingly and use paper that is white, beige or a neutral colour. Now, don’t try and do it all by yourself the first time. Seek help from others such as faculty advisors, career experts or colleagues. After you have a first base covered, it will be easier to create tailor-made versions for each type of job you are applying for. Generally, don’t worry too much about length — there are no rules on length. The CV should be professional and should include your important data (suggested by the APA – https://www.apa.org/). Don’t pad your CV by listing excessively detailed information about research or teaching. Titles of research projects and course names along with brief summaries of your work, will do the job! 😉
There is no need to share too much personal info! Some things are not necessary to be mentioned, such as age, ethnic identity, political affiliation, religious preference, marital status, sexual orientation, place of birth, photographs, and health (yes, people like to inform us how muscly and healthy they are!). Avoid including information that is humorous. The CV is not the place for humour or being “cute”. 😉 For example, personal details you are expected to include on your CV will vary in different countries. It is important to consider what information you are sharing with employers. In the UK, avoid a CV with a photograph, date of birth, nationality, and marital status. Similarly, if you have social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook for personal use, you do not need to share these. This is another opportunity to make a positive impression unless you are applying for a Digital Content Creator, and yes, they might need to evaluate “your work”. You need to think about the position you are applying for and how your interests and achievements relate to it. You can highlight activities that demonstrate transferable skills and your values (this is what I am talking about hints above 😉).
Avoid cliches, when a candidate describes themselves in their summary or the use of “old-school” power words, that are now dead, in the world of recruitment (R.I.P.). Forget all words like,
Reliable, Hard-working, Team player, Dedicated, Passionate, Strategic, Thinker, Results-Driven, Dynamic.
DAH who would have gone for someone that ISN’T all these?!
Practically speaking, those words, won’t make you stand out, because it’s what nearly everyone else is saying on their CVs and resumes.
Avoid the use of vivid colours whatsoever; unless you are applying for a graphic designing post, where in that case you are free to do anything as illustration, is part of selling yourself and your work before someone sees your portfolio.
Try to hide unexplained gaps in your employment history as that might raise questions. If you are lucky, they will briefly wonder what you were doing during that mystery period and ask to see you at an interview!
Your CV is your marketing tool, it MUST sell you. It MUST make you sound interesting. It MUST make you sound as though you will fit into the organisation and that you’ll make a quick and substantial difference. Because if all your CV does is make the recruiter think, ‘so what?’ you will have dropped the biggest CV clanger of all.
Try to find the balance between passion & strategic thinking, when writing your CV. Focus your writing on demonstrating your experience by giving real-life examples of your achievements, and don’t forget to tailor it to the actual role you’re applying for. You might need to craft more than 10 times CV, for 10 different job postings!
It is not that easy, right? Maybe now is the time to consider the help of a CV writing expert. If so, feel free to contact our team at My Next Job at any time, and we will make sure to help your tosh all unnecessary and add all important parts of your ability and create the CV for the win!
Our experts wrapped up the TOP 10 Tips creating a stand out CV:
- Be honest; do not try to fabricate skills/experience, truth always reveals itself!
- Strong use of language; grammar, spelling, syntax and mainly use powerful words, avoid cliches (check below), try to bold words, or use italics to make relevant information stand out.
- Add a professional picture (when applicable); yes, we know you have fun partying with your friends and taking pictures, but keep that one for your wall!
- Write a strong summary of your skills and key accomplishments; this applies mostly at the one-page CV. Sell yourself as it deserves!
- Practise on tailoring your CV to every application; be prepared to have several versions of your CV
- Demonstrate connection; hide gaps in your employment, add seminars to show how connected and up-to-date you are
- Emphasize on results, rather than responsibilities; both needed, but we need to see something different than the others
- Stay non-political; save yourself sometime to make some friends in there and then express yourself 😉
- Keep it up-to-date; come on, do not be lazy, I know that adding one more line will mess up your layout, but it might get you a better job!
- Work with a professional CV writer expert; seek advice if you are sure, you know the answers the questions of the “CV for the Win” article posted at this blog
