Monday, 6 January 2014
Writing a top CV
Follow these four simple steps to writing a top CV.
1. Organise your life
In functional CVs, you put your skills into categories then briefly list
past job titles at the bottom. These are suitable for those who have
been unemployed for long periods, held different types of jobs in the
past, changed jobs too frequently, are returning to work after a long
period or who wish to change career.
Recent graduates and others on a consistent career path usually opt for
the chronological format. These CVs list your jobs and duties for each
in reverse chronological order.
2. Categorize your achievements
When doing up a chronological CV, you should outline sections of your
experience, education and skills to show what you’ve accomplished. HR
personnel and employers take less than a minute to scan your CV, so it’s
imperative to highlight and organize items into several concise and
relevant segments.
If you’re a recent graduate and therefore have not yet been employed,
put your Education section first. In addition to the basics – university
name, degree and graduation date – you can include relevant coursework,
honors or awards.
Other categories might include Relevant Work Experience, Volunteer
Experience, Computer Skills, Publications, Activities, Language Skills
and so on.
3. Appearance can make or break your CV.
– Fonts: Whether you email, fax or post your CV, keep your font plain
and easy to read. And select a reasonable size – anywhere between 9 and
12 points should be acceptable. Use a sans serif font like Arial or
Verdana, not Times New Roman.
– Formatting: Too many different fonts, colors and graphic styles will
hold the reader up. Simple bullets are best for separating your duties
and skills; use bold and italics sparingly. Formatting should highlight
your accomplishments, not draw attention away from them.
4. Content is King
– Action-words: Use strong Action Verbs to highlight your job experience
and duties. Instead of starting your sentence with a noun, kick off
with an active verb. For example: Customer Service Representative.
Assisted customers, trained and supervised 15 new employees, organized
special promotional events.
– Numbers: It’s a good idea to include numbers, percentages and amounts
in your job descriptions to back up your achievements. For example,
Increased monthly sales by £100,000 over a 6-month period. Increased
turnover by 20% in first year. Supervised a team of 10 people.
– Length: No one wants to scan through two or more pages of long-winded
accomplishments and experience. If it doesn’t all fit, cut it down to
the most relevant and impressive items
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