If you are searching for a job then your first point of interaction with any employer will be your resume and discussions will move further only if the employer is impressed with your resume. Thus it is important to have a resume which clearly highlights your qualification and experience in addition to showcasing your special attributes.
Our aim here will be to share some of the most essential resume writing tips which you need to follow to create an effective CV that will help you get that dream job.
Resume Writing Tips
- Short and Precise: Your CV should be short and precise instead of being very long and boring since the employer will normally be going through hundreds of CVs and will hardly have enough time to read through every detail you add in your CV. Additionally, make use of action verbs such as coached, planned, coached and managed while mentioning your experience to grab attention of prospective employers.
- Effective Titles: You should know that any employer generally takes as little as 5 seconds to judge whether a CV is good or not. Things that catch attention in the CV are the title and they need to be effective, clearly talk about your work experience as well as grab attention. As for example, a not so good title would be “Accounting” while a title like “Manager – Recordkeeping” will be able to easily draw attention.
- Structure: It would be much easier to read your bio-data in case the paragraphs are divided into short sentences in which you describe your education, experience or professional objectives. Additionally, make use of lists and bulleted points wherever possible to develop proper structure.
- Order of Details: It is important to add the important details first and this applies for both the CV as a whole and for each and every individual section. In a CV the most important section is the one in which you highlight your work experience and this should be added in the top section. Similarly, in different sections, while explaining about your skills or experience, try to list the significant ones first.
- Proofread and Typography: Even a small typing or grammatical mistake could well become a big difference between being shortlisted for an interview or rejected. Thus it is critical that you proofread it at least twice to make sure there are no mistakes left. Additionally, pay attention to typography, as for example, the fonts should be proper and big so that the text is readable. You need to make sure the font of 11 or 12 is used and overuse of capital letters is avoided since capital letters may well prove to be a distraction while reading text.
- Sell Yourself: The goal behind creating good curriculum vitae is to sell yourself and you need to put in the effort to design the CV in a way that it looks good. Similarly, if you are talking about the achievements then put in exact numbers. As for instance, instead of mentioning that you helped increase revenues in your last company, try to add numbers, like helped the company increase revenue by 80% or $50,000.
- Positive Approach: Avoid adding statements such as ‘References available on request’ or ‘Available for interview’. As you are applying with a company, you should be available for the interview and provide references upfront without the need to be asked about it; since it will show your positive approach and that you are really interested about the job. In addition to it, avoid using negative language like giving details about things you did not like about the last company.
Conclusion
To conclude we will say that by keeping the above points in mind while creating your resume you will definitely be able to impress any prospective employer and improve chances of being shortlisted for an interview.
