A major part of writing your CV is the overall design. To make an impact, it has to be consistent, not necessarily filled with graphical elements. You can add some colour, change the font, add company logos or little graphics in your personal details.
But, what is the best CV format? Here are 5 tips:
If you’ve come this far, you’re nearly there! By now you would have revised your Profile, refined your Skills, uplifted your Experience and updated your Education. But, what else can you include?
Never underestimate the power of giving back to your community, organisation or university on a voluntary basis. There are skills learned that you can transfer to any work environment, while also highlighting some passion projects or interests you may have away from your professional life. This will add significant value and credibility to YOU, as a person.
Read More »Add Some Creativity with Additional Sections (CV Writing Guide)
What is a CV without your experience? This is your chance to SHOW readers your accomplishments, contributions, skills and achievements. This can be a very difficult section to get right, so we have put together some pointers to help you:
Your CV is a marketing tool, so it is important to include what YOU feel will add value to you with your next career move. This can include new skills gained, relevant experience and major milestones achieved. Anything quantifiable can be included too as this adds more credibility behind your abilities as a professional.
Read More »Tell a Story with your Experience (CV Writing Guide)
How you represent this section on your CV has evolved. If you are an experienced professional, you may place this section at the end of the CV; but, if you are upskilling or looking to branch into a new industry, place it on the first page ABOVE your experience.
If you have completed third level education within the last 2 years, bring forward this academic experience by emphasising modules or projects completed. SHOW that you have the knowledge to make you stand out.Read More »Highlight Your Education, Qualifications and Training (CV Writing Guide)
CVs are constantly changing and so should your skills. As you gain more experience, you learn more about yourself or about your professional ability. To make sure that your CV stands out, include keywords that will add some pizzazz and SHOW the value you can bring.
Every CV should always have your Profile and Skills at the top of the first page. Why? Well, both work hand-in-hand with one another as you’re emphasising your strengths, competencies and abilities in a short, but concise, section.
The tricky part is to make sure you have a mix of Soft and Hard skills as you also want to bring forward your personality throughout the CV.
Read More »Dust off the Cobwebs and Brush up your Skills (CV Writing Guide)
In the first step of the CV Writing guide, we will whos you how to write a clear and concise Professional Profile that will help you stand out from everyone else.
Also known as a Summary, this is a short paragraph which acts like a mini cover letter at the very top of the CV or résumé. It provides a quick synopsis of your professional background and helps to focus the direction of the CV when writing. A profile should:Read More »How to Write a Concise Professional Profile (CV Writing Guide)
Accept/Except
Accept – To receive something
Except – Means but or with exception to
Affect/Effect
Affect – Influence or Change
Effect – Result of something
And/Or
If you use this in you CV it will usually have three outcomes instead of two. For example: I will write my CV and/or a cover letter. This implies that you will either: write a CV, write a cover letter or write a CV and cover letter.
Assure/Ensure/Insure
Assure – To convince or guarantee something
Ensure – To make certain of something
Insure – To protect something against loss
In a previous blog post we mentioned how you can Design your CV with ways to make your CV stand out. But, how do you go about writing a CV?
Keep the content in your CV as fresh and recent as you can to make sure that you are including as much of your professional experience as possible. This doesn’t mean that you list every single position that you ever worked in. Any experience that is more than 10 – 15 years old can be included as a Career Note.
If you have a lot of experience, you don’t need to have everything on your CV. Only include relevant and recent information to grab the employer’s attention. Depending on the position, keep the length to 2 pages. If you do have valuable project experience or director-level expertise, you can consider expanding the content to 3 pages.
A CV should explain your experience, but if you are targeting a particular position where you have little experience, you can make the CV relevant by including this first under your work experience. That way, the information won’t get lost and it will be the first thing an employer will read.
You found the ideal job and are preparing a CV to send to the employer. But, you realise that it isn’t as attractive as you thought it could be. If you fail to market yourself, you won’t be successful in grabbing that interview. Although a tedious task, you should always set aside some time to really plan out your CV, making it look professional and eye-catching to employers. That 2 hours spent on your CV could make our break your career.To get started, here are 15 Tips to help you create the PERFECT CV: