A CV / resume is your passport to motivate employers to learn more about you (and therefore to contact you for a job interview).
Employers receive 1000s of CVs, so they only spend a very short period of time on each profile. For their first selection, recruiters spend on average 50 seconds on each CV to decide "go" or "no go" (it is not an average, but a maximum)! Though it does not seem fair, your CV/resume might even be judged first by someone who acts as a filter.
This is why it is crucial for your CV / resume to be clear and well structured and stand out! This will increase your chances to be on top of their list. Below are our recommendations for buidling a strong CV / Resume.
Top 5 things to do
1. Keep it short:
Keep your CV/Resume to 2 pages maximum (other information can be discussed during the job interview).
2. Most relevant information on the first page
List the most recent experience/ education at top of the list and list your responsibilities/ achievements per job3. Emphasize important information.
Emphasize job titles, company names and such. This will also help the recruiters to quickly "screen" your profile.4. Use a clear and consistent layout.
Use similar lists/bullets, one font size for text and one for headers, and use fonts larger than 10pt. Do not use colour.5. Get in the skin of your reader.
The reader will scan many CV’s, including yours, and look for specific job titles, keywords, etc. A clear document will help the reader to identify anything he/she will need.What to avoid
As important as the guidelines to do a good CV/Resume, there are some elements that should avoid.
Do not ...
- ...waste too much space on top of the first page displaying all your contact and personal details.
Recruiters only screen your email address or phone number if they are interested in your profile, so these details can easily go at the bottom of CV/resume or appear in small characters. - ...use colored text, small fonts (less than 10), different layouts.
Small characters are difficult to read and a "colorful" document doesn't look professional. - ...use any other type of document than Word or a (adobe) pdf.
With excel, rich text format, text files etc you cannot guarantee that the reader will be able to open or knows how to use the document - ...have any spelling, typing or grammar mistakes in your CV/Resume.
Use the spelling checking facility in Word to check possible errors in your document. If english is not your mother tongue, do have it checked by other people proficient in the language. - ...send you CV/Resume without having at least 2 people to proofread it.
These can be friends, family, peers, (ex-) colleagues, mentors etc. The aim of a CV/resume is to get a certain message across. By proofreading it you are testing whether your document makes the right impression. Be open for their comments and feedback. You must accept the fact that your CV/resume can make a certain impact on people and compare this to what you aim to achieve. - ...include reference letters, copies of degrees or any other copies in your document.
- ...use the same CV/Resume for all your applications.
Jobs and expectations from employers are different. For this reason you need to adapt your CV/resume to answer these expectations. The key element is to imagine what a company is looking for in their people. Adapt you CV/resume by using certain keywords, give examples of achievements.
For example:
A small company wants some elements in your CV/Resume that will prove that you can work independently and do not mind working outside your job scope. In contrast, a service company might want to see if you can cope with deadlines, can carry the sales responsibility and are capable of closing deals.
