Especially since the pandemic, jobs are hard to come by, a lot of offices had to close and a lot of businesses went bust. This means writing your cv/resume well is so important. Below are our tips on how to write the best cv/resume and how to really stand out in regards to the job!
Checklist
Try not to go on a tangent when writing about yourself, below is a list of what should be included:
- Personal Details. This includes name, address, telephone number, email address and if relevant, your LinkedIn profile link.
- Objective. Summarize and emphasize anything you are good at, your key points and why you would be good as an employee, make it short and sweet though and make sure your words flow seamlessly.
- Employment and Work Experience. This should be all your previous employment and work experience starting from the most recent.
- Education. This should be all of your education, including in school and any relevant training or qualifications you may have.
- Achievements. Here you should pop anything you feel is a big academic or professional accomplishment or achievement, especially those relevant to the role you are applying for.
- Interests. Keep this one short and sweet also, but add anything you like to do as a hobby so your employer can get a feel as to who you are as a person.
- References. These are the people you would like your employee to contact in reference for your job, it is usually one professional (an old boss) and one personal (a family friend). You can put down ‘references available on request’ however, more people are successful when they actually put their references down.
Stand Out
It is hard nowadays to stand out, we all get that, but to be chosen for a job that is exactly what you have to be able to do. You resume/cv should show your unique blend of skills and experiences, showcase examples of problem solving, management roles, previous success.
Be sure to focus a lot on your personal statement (objective), this is the first thing an employer looks at and could be the decider! Use keywords too, to do this, check the job description and it will state the particular person the employer is looking to find, using these keywords show you have read an understood the brief and will automatically put you in a better position than some others.
Keep It Simple
This one is self-explanatory, keep your resume/cv simple! Steer clear of large letters, complicated fonts and colours. It needs to look professional for someone to want to keep reading. Keep it to one or two at most pages long, it isn’t a life story it is a brief inkling into your life and accomplishments. Stick to simple formats and layouts too, you can view templates here.
Don't Be Generic
Employers get hundreds and some get thousands of CVs/resumes a year, that is a lot of reading and shortlisting to do! The worst part is, most of them will be almost identical. A lot of people will use generic wording on their CV’s… ‘Reliable’, ‘great at time keeping’, ‘always smiling’. These are things we think employers want to read but in actual fact they don’t! If you genuinely have any of those skills, highlight why, or word them differently. Most generic print outs go in the bin, so remember this when you are writing yours!
Check and Check Again
You can never check too many times! If an employer reads a mistake it cannot be undone. Pop it through a spellchecker and grammar checker to be sure and then personally check yourself to make sure everything reads right. The most common mistakes are overlapping dates of employment, wrong telephone number or email address and general spelling mistakes. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Out with the Old
Always be sure to update your resume/cv regularly. Firing off an old one will come across as unprofessional from the offset. Update it to make sure it applies to any job you are applying for, update hobbies and be sure to make sure your phone number and address are correct, this could be the difference between a job and unemployment!
It takes an employer just seven seconds to save or reject a job applicant’s cv/resume which means a good one is vital if you want that all important interview!
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