8. Include Soft and Hard Skills
These are skills that you either learn on the job (hard) or learn through interactions (soft). Your skills should act more like keywords for the job you apply to. Proactive & Flexible is fine for recent graduates, but no longer required for seasoned professionals. Stronger, more focused skills should be included on your CV.
9. Don’t be Afraid of Self-Promotion
Your CV is a marketing tool and should be used to showcase your full potential. If you achieved something, illustrate it with figures or tangible results. A CV is designed to ‘show not tell’, so use it to your advantage.
10. Keep it to 2 pages
If you have a lot of experience you don’t need to include everything on your CV. Include relevant and recent information to grab the employer’s attention. If you chose the correct template, they will be formatted to help you streamline the content. If you have experience over 10 – 15 years, mention it at the bottom as a career note.
What are Soft and Hard Skills?
11. Proofread! Proofread! Proofread!
Never rely on spell check to review and edit your CV. You should always ask someone to look over the information for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Read the contents out loud to determine its flow. Most importantly, make sure that your contact information is up-to-date.
12. Keep it Consistent
Any formatting, fonts, styles, colours used must be reflected throughout the entire CV. This would also be the same for how you write the dates for your work experiences and the bullet points used. Remember that the tense you use must be consistent at all times when talking about present or past experiences.
13. Link your LinkedIn profile
Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Did you know how powerful this can be online? If you have extensive experience too much to list on your CV, simply link to your LinkedIn profile at the top of the CV (in personal details).
14. Update Regularly
It can be easy to write your CV and then forget about it after you get the job. Get into the habit of updating your CV with new projects, achievements, work experiences etc. Remove the out-of-date information to make space. It will save you time in the future!
15. Keep It Simple
This can be surprising, but many people think that the more graphical elements they have the more appealing it will be to employers. That is not the case. This is why it is important to research the industry and company before writing your CV. You could create the best CV for marketing / graphic design, but are applying for a conservative position like HR or Admin. Simple is key when creating the perfect CV.
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