How to write a cv. Here are just the best cv tips, as you can get bogged down with do this don’t do that lists. These are just the top cv tips that are extremely important and if these are wrong then your application mightn’t even get read!
Best cv tips
- The first and simplest of the cv top tips is 2 pages MAX! Never squeeze a little bit onto a 3rd page, as it’s only another paragraph and it won’t make much difference. There is on average approximately 100 job applications per job, this includes bad jobs so if you are trying to get a good job then expect the number of applicants to be twice or three times this number. So simple steps may be taken on receipt to trim down the number of applications to read, let alone interview, and this will be done by the lowest office staff who has nothing to do with hiring. So if you want your application to even get in front of the person hiring then keep your cv to two pages maximum. Tinker with font size and line spacing etc if you have to have more on the page but also think about how easy and appealing it is to read.
- Tailor your cv to each and every job you’re going for. To look committed to each employer personalise your cv. Find out who is hiring as in the cover letters page. Google them, have you got anything in common with them? Same college, uni, degree, interests etc. Nostalgia affects everyone even a boss and if you get to interview with them it’ll give you some common ground to talk about and help break the ice. I heard about somebody who managed to get his boss to get the company to pay for his computing masters degree, which was unheard of, because he was applying for the exact same masters degree as his boss had done years earlier, even though it wouldn’t have been his first choice, he knew his boss had done this exact degree. Do you remember someone easier and for longer if you had something in common with them? Would you be more interested in meeting/interviewing somebody who you had something in common with you over somebody you had nothing in common with? And if you spoke with this person about this shared interest maybe at an interview would you remember them over the hundred other people who you had spoke to about uninteresting topics?
- Don’t start your cv with a personal paragraph unless you have something that is out of this world to say. If yours could have been written by almost anybody then reclaim that valuable page space for selling yourself in other ways. Everybody has a story and unless yours is so much more amazing than the other hundred applicants whose job applications need reading then make it as easy for the person reading your application as possible and cut to the chase.
- You need to show an employer how you have acquired skills they are looking for by relating these skills to your interests, work experience or your qualifications. Starting with a skills section, if you have little employment history is a good idea in these cases. Outline your strengths, break down your qualifications into their component classes. Explain how certain classes taught you certain skills that are required in the workplace such as customer service, responsibility and time management skills. Do mention skills such as languages you can speak etc. If you have little employment history an interests section can be included at the end.