Your first chance to impress
When it comes to job-hunting, your CV is your ticket to getting noticed and getting that interview you have been waiting for. Every CV is different since we all want to highlight different aspects of our professional life, but they all follow a similar pattern.
Today, we are helping you with your CV with some useful tips.
1. Tailor it
Recruiters will only spend a few seconds reading your CV before discarding it or setting it apart from the rest. Therefore, make sure your CV is tailor made and take the time to change it for each position you apply for. Research the company and the position being offered to ensure you include the skills they are looking for.
2. Avoid gaps
Remember that year you were out of work? Maybe you took a course during that time? Make sure you include it as employers might get suspicious of obvious gaps in your work experience. Giving it a positive spin might be the way to go so include an explanation for that “time off”.
3. Stick to the point
CVs should ideally be no longer than 2 pages. Recruiters have to look at dozens of CVs before getting to yours and they probably will not be interested in that piano course you took as a teenager. Instead of telling the story of your life, stick to relevant information about your achievements. Have the details ready for the interview.
4. No need to lie
Sounds obvious but if you resort to lying, employers most likely will find out. Your references and experience might get checked and or come up during the interview. Avoid listing that basic Microsoft Excel course you took 10 years ago as “advanced computing skills”.
5. Careful with errors
Even if your CV follows every single tip on this list, nothing will get you disqualified faster than blatant spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Make sure you, not only run it through a spell checker, but also have a friend or relative to proof read it.
