“FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE BEST IMPRESSION” – Tips for Drafting Perfect CV
What is a CV?
Your CV, short form of Curriculum Vitae, is a personal marketing document used to render your potential skills or yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about you, your professional history and your skills, abilities and achievements. Ultimately, it should highlight why you’re the best person for the particular job.
Writing a CV? Always takes care : Writing a good CV can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting. If you want your CV to be shortlisted, you have to make it very easy for the employer to see why you are the ideal candidate for the role by emphasizing your relevant skills and experience. The way your CV is presented will also be subject to perusal. For this reason jobs.fobza.com supplies some key points to be considered while drafting Your CV.
1. Keep it real.
A good CV is clear, concise and makes every point necessary without waffling. You don’t need pages and pages of paper – you just keep things short and sweet– and that’s two pages of A4 size paper!. Employers spend, on average, just 8 seconds looking at any ones CV, and a sure-fire way of landing yourself on the no pile is to send them your entire life story. Most will make a judgment about a CV within sections, so stick to a maximum of two pages of A4 paper. Keep it punchy, to the point, and save those niggle little details for the Interview.
2. Get the basics right.
There is no right or wrong way to write a CV but there are some common sections you should cover. These includes personal and contact information, education and qualifications, work history or experience, relevant skills to the job in question, own interests, achievements or hobbies, and some references.
3. Tailor it.
When you’ve established what the job involves and how you can match each requirement, create a CV specifically for that role. Remember, there is no such thing as a generic CV. Every CV you send to a potential employee should be tailored to that role so don’t be lazy and hope that a general CV will work but, it won’t. Research the company and use the job advert to work out EXACTLY what skills you should point out to them. They will appreciate the obvious effort.
4. Include a personal statement.
Don’t just accept an employer will see how your experience relates to their job. Instead, use a short personal statement to explain why you are the best person for the job. This should be reflected in your cover letter.
5. Making the most of skills.
Under the skills section of your CV don’t forget to mention key skills that can help you to stand out from the crowd. These include; communication skills, computer skills, team working, problem solving or even speaking a foreign language. Skills can come out of the most unlikely places, so really think about what you’ve done to grow your own skills, even if you take examples from being in a local sports team or joining a voluntary group – it’s all applicable.
6. Making the most of interests.
Under interests, highlight the things that show off skills you’ve gained and employers look for. Describe any examples of positions of responsibility, working in a team or anything that shows you can use your own initiative. Include anything that shows how diverse, interested and skilled you are. Don’t include passive interests like watching TV, solitary hobbies that can be perceived as you lacking in people skills. Make yourself sound really interesting.
7. Don’t leave gaps.
We are a cynical bunch and leaving obvious gaps on your CV immediately makes employers suspicious and they won’t give you the benefit of the doubt. If you have been out of work it can be a worry but just put a positive spin on it. Did you do a course, volunteer work or develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork or project management? If so, mention about it!
8. The error of your ways.
Employers do look for mistakes on CVs and if they find them, it makes you look really bad. If you are unsure then use a spellchecker and ask someone else to double-check what you’ve written. And don’t ignore the most common mistakes.
9. Tell the truth.
Everyone lies on their CV, right? NO! Stop! Transparent lies on your CV can land you in a whole heap of trouble when it comes to employers checking your background and references. The last thing you want is to start work and then lose your new job for lying. You also may get caught out at the interview stage when you suddenly can’t answer questions on what you claim to know. And that can be very awkward!
10. Making the most of experience.
Use authoritative and positive language under the work history and experience sections, such as “developed”, “organised” or “achieved”. Try to relate the skills you have learned to the job role you’re applying for. For example: “The work experience involved working in a team,” or “This position involved planning, organisation and leadership as I was responsible for a team of people”.Really get to clutch with the valuable skills and experience you have gained from past work positions, even if it was just working in a restaurant – every little helps.
11. The maths.
This may sound dull but by backing up your achievements with numbers it makes selling yourself much easier. When writing your work history, don’t just say that you increased sales; tell them you increased sales by 70% over a six month period. Get it? Big numbers are especially good.
12. Make it look good.
We live in a world where image is everything, and that also goes for your CV. Take some time to pretty it up… Use bullet points and keep sentences short. Use the graphic design trick of leaving plenty of white space around text and between categories to make the layout easy on the eye. Alternatively, get creative with your job application!
13. Key Presentation.
A successful CV is always carefully and clearly presented, and printed on clean, crisp white paper. The layout should always be clean and well structured and CVs should never be crumpled or folded, so use an A4 envelope to post your applications.
Always remember the CV hotspot – the upper middle area of the first page is where the recruiter’s eye will naturally fall, so make sure you include your most important information there.
14. Make it keyword friendly.
If you’ve uploaded your CV to a job site so recruiters can find you, keywords are very important. Job titles and job buzzwords will help a search engine pick out your CV from the bunch. Confused? Don’t be, a marketing candidate might mention SEO (Search Engine Optimization), direct marketing and digital marketing among their experience and skills, for example… If you’re not sure, have a search online and see what words are commonly mentioned when you input your job title.
15. Avoiding any Contradiction.
In terms of language, your CV should steer away from putting things in negative terms. So when addressing any adversity for example, the technique is to present such “challenges” as triumphant. Avoiding negative words such as “hate”, “argued”, “quit”, “ignored” or “tried” is best policy, even if they honestly reflect your personal feelings. Alternative suitable phrases would be “overcame”, “persuaded”, “re-approached” and “delivered” for example.
Similarly negative experiences shouldn’t be conveyed as acts of failure but as opportunities for personal development. So for instance an occasion where maybe difficulties within your team caused a missed deadline, you might say the experience taught you valuable lessons about people management, hinting at how that knowledge has been applied since.
16. Including references.
References should be from someone who has employed you in the past and can validate for your skills and experience. If you’ve never worked before you’re OK to use a teacher or tutor as a referee. Try to include two if you can.
17. Keep it current.
It’s crucial to review your CV on a regular basis and add any new skills or experience that’s missing. You should keep your CV up-to-date whether you are looking for a job or not. Every time something significant occurs in your career, record it so you don’t later forget something that could be important.
Get your CV right from the outset, and you may well find a job more quickly. Your CV is your chance to make a great first impression and secure yourself in an interview. So, follow the guidance of Fobza.com. and then upload your CV to apply for your next job.
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“FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE BEST IMPRESSION” – Tips for Drafting Perfect CV
What is a CV?
Your CV, short form of Curriculum Vitae, is a personal marketing document used to render your potential skills or yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about you, your professional history and your skills, abilities and achievements. Ultimately, it should highlight why you’re the best person for the particular job.
Writing a CV? Always takes care : Writing a good CV can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting. If you want your CV to be shortlisted, you have to make it very easy for the employer to see why you are the ideal candidate for the role by emphasizing your relevant skills and experience. The way your CV is presented will also be subject to perusal. For this reason jobs.fobza.com supplies some key points to be considered while drafting Your CV.
1. Keep it real.
A good CV is clear, concise and makes every point necessary without waffling. You don’t need pages and pages of paper – you just keep things short and sweet– and that’s two pages of A4 size paper!. Employers spend, on average, just 8 seconds looking at any ones CV, and a sure-fire way of landing yourself on the no pile is to send them your entire life story. Most will make a judgment about a CV within sections, so stick to a maximum of two pages of A4 paper. Keep it punchy, to the point, and save those niggle little details for the Interview.
2. Get the basics right.
There is no right or wrong way to write a CV but there are some common sections you should cover. These includes personal and contact information, education and qualifications, work history or experience, relevant skills to the job in question, own interests, achievements or hobbies, and some references.
3. Tailor it.
When you’ve established what the job involves and how you can match each requirement, create a CV specifically for that role. Remember, there is no such thing as a generic CV. Every CV you send to a potential employee should be tailored to that role so don’t be lazy and hope that a general CV will work but, it won’t. Research the company and use the job advert to work out EXACTLY what skills you should point out to them. They will appreciate the obvious effort.
4. Include a personal statement.
Don’t just accept an employer will see how your experience relates to their job. Instead, use a short personal statement to explain why you are the best person for the job. This should be reflected in your cover letter.
5. Making the most of skills.
Under the skills section of your CV don’t forget to mention key skills that can help you to stand out from the crowd. These include; communication skills, computer skills, team working, problem solving or even speaking a foreign language. Skills can come out of the most unlikely places, so really think about what you’ve done to grow your own skills, even if you take examples from being in a local sports team or joining a voluntary group – it’s all applicable.
6. Making the most of interests.
Under interests, highlight the things that show off skills you’ve gained and employers look for. Describe any examples of positions of responsibility, working in a team or anything that shows you can use your own initiative. Include anything that shows how diverse, interested and skilled you are. Don’t include passive interests like watching TV, solitary hobbies that can be perceived as you lacking in people skills. Make yourself sound really interesting.
7. Don’t leave gaps.
We are a cynical bunch and leaving obvious gaps on your CV immediately makes employers suspicious and they won’t give you the benefit of the doubt. If you have been out of work it can be a worry but just put a positive spin on it. Did you do a course, volunteer work or develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork or project management? If so, mention about it!
8. The error of your ways.
Employers do look for mistakes on CVs and if they find them, it makes you look really bad. If you are unsure then use a spellchecker and ask someone else to double-check what you’ve written. And don’t ignore the most common mistakes.
9. Tell the truth.
Everyone lies on their CV, right? NO! Stop! Transparent lies on your CV can land you in a whole heap of trouble when it comes to employers checking your background and references. The last thing you want is to start work and then lose your new job for lying. You also may get caught out at the interview stage when you suddenly can’t answer questions on what you claim to know. And that can be very awkward!
10. Making the most of experience.
Use authoritative and positive language under the work history and experience sections, such as “developed”, “organised” or “achieved”. Try to relate the skills you have learned to the job role you’re applying for. For example: “The work experience involved working in a team,” or “This position involved planning, organisation and leadership as I was responsible for a team of people”.Really get to clutch with the valuable skills and experience you have gained from past work positions, even if it was just working in a restaurant – every little helps.
11. The maths.
This may sound dull but by backing up your achievements with numbers it makes selling yourself much easier. When writing your work history, don’t just say that you increased sales; tell them you increased sales by 70% over a six month period. Get it? Big numbers are especially good.
12. Make it look good.
We live in a world where image is everything, and that also goes for your CV. Take some time to pretty it up… Use bullet points and keep sentences short. Use the graphic design trick of leaving plenty of white space around text and between categories to make the layout easy on the eye. Alternatively, get creative with your job application!
13. Key Presentation.
A successful CV is always carefully and clearly presented, and printed on clean, crisp white paper. The layout should always be clean and well structured and CVs should never be crumpled or folded, so use an A4 envelope to post your applications.
Always remember the CV hotspot – the upper middle area of the first page is where the recruiter’s eye will naturally fall, so make sure you include your most important information there.
14. Make it keyword friendly.
If you’ve uploaded your CV to a job site so recruiters can find you, keywords are very important. Job titles and job buzzwords will help a search engine pick out your CV from the bunch. Confused? Don’t be, a marketing candidate might mention SEO (Search Engine Optimization), direct marketing and digital marketing among their experience and skills, for example… If you’re not sure, have a search online and see what words are commonly mentioned when you input your job title.
15. Avoiding any Contradiction.
In terms of language, your CV should steer away from putting things in negative terms. So when addressing any adversity for example, the technique is to present such “challenges” as triumphant. Avoiding negative words such as “hate”, “argued”, “quit”, “ignored” or “tried” is best policy, even if they honestly reflect your personal feelings. Alternative suitable phrases would be “overcame”, “persuaded”, “re-approached” and “delivered” for example.
Similarly negative experiences shouldn’t be conveyed as acts of failure but as opportunities for personal development. So for instance an occasion where maybe difficulties within your team caused a missed deadline, you might say the experience taught you valuable lessons about people management, hinting at how that knowledge has been applied since.
16. Including references.
References should be from someone who has employed you in the past and can validate for your skills and experience. If you’ve never worked before you’re OK to use a teacher or tutor as a referee. Try to include two if you can.
17. Keep it current.
It’s crucial to review your CV on a regular basis and add any new skills or experience that’s missing. You should keep your CV up-to-date whether you are looking for a job or not. Every time something significant occurs in your career, record it so you don’t later forget something that could be important.
Get your CV right from the outset, and you may well find a job more quickly. Your CV is your chance to make a great first impression and secure yourself in an interview. So, follow the guidance of Fobza.com. and then upload your CV to apply for your next job.