When it comes to applying for a new job, your CV could be just the ticket to get you that initial foot in the door and secure an interview – but how do you ensure your CV is added to the interview pile rather than thrown straight in the bin?
In this blog post, you are about to get more knowledge about the Top 70 CV Writing Tips. after reading these tips we expect that you will be able to write a CV that ROCK!
#1 Keep your name notable.
Your name should be in a bold font to be too obvious for the recruiters.
#2 Create a professional email address.
It may seem too obvious. But it’s worth mentioning because the use of an unprofessional email address will get you ignored.
#3 The font size between 10 to 12
Keep your CV font size between 10-12 points so that a hiring manager can easily read it without squinting.
#4 Try to use an attractive and readable font.
Choosing the right font can help your CV get the attention it. Here are the top 3 fonts you can use in your resume.
– Verdana
– Arial
– Helvetica
#5 Don’t include a photo in your resume.
Should you include a photo on your resume? In most cases, the answer is no, but there are exceptions. Here’s when and how to add a photo to your resume.
– Include your Linkedin URL in your CV.
– Include a business card with a photo.
#6 Don’t include your work email in your resume.
If you want your job search efforts to be fruitful, PLEASE don’t include your work email in your resume.
#7 Write your website/Blog address in your resume.
You need the recruiter to know more about you and to see your achievements and maybe your portfolio. So, don’t hesitate to write your website address in your resume.
#8 Use reverse-chronological order.
This is about how you should arrange your experience and education in your resume. You should put your current job first, and for education, you should put your highest degree first.
#9 Align your content to the left to make it skimmable.
It becomes easier when you align your content to the left.
#10 Make strategic use of bold, caps, and italics.
If you’ve made one of your subheadings bold – let them all bold. Try not to overuse anything. Make important information easier to find.
#11 Give your sections simple subheadings.
You can do that by creating simple subheadings.
For example:
-Resume Summary
-Experience
-Education
-Skills
#12 Choose a CV format that works for you.
There are three types of resume formats:
-Reverse-chronological
-Combination
-Functional or Skills-based
Deciding what CV format to choose will be one of the first things you do. The reverse-chronological format is the most common and you can play with the layout.
#13 Use a professionally designed template.
CV templates can save you a lot of time and effort. Pick one out, and you’re ready to go.
#14 Put your education section first.
After your contact information, start your CV with either a resume summary or a resume objective.
#15 Read the job description more than once.
Okay, reading the job description sounds like one of the most obvious resume-building tips ever.
#16 Make sure you’ve created margins.
If you do need a little more space, it’s okay to drop your bottom and top margins to 0.5” and your side margins to 0.75”. Anymore and your resume will suffer.
#17 Balance your text and white space.
Balancing your text and white space is the same thing as adding margins. It makes your CV aesthetically pleasing and easy to read.
#18 Add a coursework description.
Your education section is still your strongest asset. Explaining courses can show recruiters that you have skills related to the job.
#19 Name your files suitably.
It is important to name your resume files suitably. Your CV could end up in an inbox with hundreds of other resumes.
#20 Match your cover letter to your CV.
The two best cover letter tips are:
-Write a cover letter.
-Match the content of your cover letter to your CV.
#21 Highlight your promotions.
Consider mentioning any promotions you’ve received. Mention the company name once in the case of internal promotions.
#22 Cut the fluff in your experience section.
Deleting bullet points in your experience section is an easy way to cut it short.
List responsibilities that explain the skills and experience you’ll need for your new job.
#23 Explain large gaps in your career history.
Address significant gaps in your career history by explaining the jobs where the gaps occur.
Gaps can happen for many reasons.
A brief explanation will make recruiters know that it was unintentional or beneficial for you.
#24 Use action verbs wherever possible.
One of the best resume tips is using action verbs and avoiding resume buzzwords.
#25 Use simple jargon.
The person interviewing you may not be aware of the technical jargon.
Especially if you are in a jargon-heavy industry. Try to use simple terms wherever possible.
#26 Check your job description and resume through a cloud generator.
Check that you’ve tailored your resume to meet the needs of the hiring manager by cloud generator.
#27 Save a copy of your resume as a PDF.
#28 Tailoring your resume to the job description.
#29 Add what you’ve achieved to your experience section.
#30 Add numbers and details where possible.
Whatever it is that you’ve achieved try to make it quantifiable.
#31 Top third of your resume.
Highlight your best skills, experience, and achievements, try to put the best stuff at the top.
#32 Resume summary or objective should be included.
#33 Use a proofreading tool to grab attention.
Grab the attention of the recruiter to read through your resume.
#34 Tidy up your online presence.
Consider searching for you online so your online presence is necessary.
#35 Create a professional persona for yourself.
It’s all about the description of yourself that should stick in the head of the recruiter when your name doesn’t.
#36 Support your professional titles by showing career progression.
Telling the story of your career progression is impressive.
#37 Consider adding a Hobbies and Interest section to your CV.
Hobbies and interests can be great additions to your resume.
#38 Trim any unnecessary fat from your resume.
Having problems keeping the length of your resume in check?
You will want to trim the fat:
-Make sure every word you’ve used is a must.
-Keep your bullet points to six at most.
-Trim your resume summary or your skills section without killing the value.
-And kill any extra sections that aren’t mandatory.
#39 Try to figure out the personal email address of the hiring manager.
#40 Track your CV.
You can use a free tool like Mix-max to track your email so that you know the moment a hiring manager opens it.
#41 Never lie on your resume.
No need to explain. In the interview or after you’ve been hired, you will get caught.
#42 Making your resume one page long is something good to do.
#43 Don’t try to amaze employers with fancy paper.
#44 Keep away from generic clichés
These phrases don’t actually tell recruiters anything factual about you.
#45 Logo images are unnecessary.
Logos of the companies you have worked for will make your resume file size unnecessarily big and often confuse resume scanning software.
#46 Avoid the usage of skills graphs
Recruiters are in need to know more facts about your skills, there is no need for using skills graphs.
#47 Clean up your page transitions
Your CV is a professional document so it needs to be clean.
#48 Define gaps in your employment
Be transparent in your reasons for gaps and include it on your CV.
#49 Use space wisely
You have limited space on your CV, so make every inch count.
Set your page margins small so that you have lots of room for text and try not leave any big blank spaces through poor CV formatting.
#50 Do not include unnecessary personal details
Details like your full address and date of birth are surplus to requirement in your CV and take up space.
The only details you need to include are your name, email address, phone number and location you are looking to work in.
#51 Put your name in the header of the document.
Double click in the top of the document where you cannot write. Insert a header text and write for example your name. Handy when the HR-employee mixes up CV’s
#52 Avoid errors
Let somebody who is good at texts read your cv. Somebody else can pick the mistakes out.
#53 Look at your last tweets.
Just check, If you have included your twitter profile on your CV, there is a big chance that a member of HR will look at it.
#54 Teaching Experience
Often this details: the institutions where you’ve taught, your job titles at these institutions (e.g., TA, intern, adjunct instructor, etc.), the names and course numbers for the classes you’ve taught, and the dates when you taught these or the number of terms you taught them.
#55 Research Experience
If you’ve served as a research assistant, this would be an appropriate section to identify that. Depending on your field and experience, you may choose to detail: the labs names you’ve worked in, the names of PIs you’ve worked under, the titles of projects you’ve worked on, and the dates of your involvement. It is ok to use vocabulary here that is familiar to your scholarly peers.
#56 Administrative Experience
If you have leadership experience in the department that you are working in it or in connection to other organizations or initiatives, you will want to identify your role, the name of the program, the dates you served in this capacity, and possibly a brief description of your responsibilities.
While many CV items will not include descriptions, when accounting for your administrative experience, you may need to offer a sentence or a concise bulleted list in order to inform your readers of what you did within this position.
#57 Don’t use a long sentence when a short one will do!
#58 You don’t need to list every job you’ve ever had if it’s Irrelevant experience .
#59 Old fashioned-isms stop listing Microsoft Word as a skill – it’s expected nowadays!
#60 Don’t get personal
Remove any details like religious, marital status, and age. Don’t Mention any reference to your current and past salaries as well as older qualifications such as GCSE’s.
#61 Hobbies
Like spending time with your friends and family…who doesn’t? If your hobbies are relevant to the company you’re applying to they could help you get an interview, but it’s preferable to include any examples of volunteer or charity work. You have limited space, so use it in the right way! Read The Smart Way to Write Your CV.
#62 Avoid Repetition
Avoid repeating exactly the same duties from one employment to another. Most jobs will differ in some way from a similar job in a different company. If you just cut and paste the responsibilities from one job to the next.
#63 Describe your experience using keywords from the job you are applying to.
#64 Explain Serial Job Hopping
If you’ve job-hopped frequently, include the reason why you are leaving next to each position, with a succinct explanation like “company closed,” “layoff due to downsizing,” or “relocated to new city.” you will proactively illustrate the reason for your sporadic job movement and make it less of an issue.
#65 Explain a Long Break in Jobs
Re-entering the workforce after a long hiatus? This is the perfect chance for a summary statement at the top, outlining your best skills and accomplishments. without hesitating to include part-time or volunteer work.
#66 Don’t Try to Get Cute
Don’t try to creatively fill the gaps in your resume. For example, if you took time out of the workforce to raise kids, don’t list your parenting experience on your resume, While parenting is as demanding and intense a job as any out there, most corporate decision makers aren’t going to take this section of your resume seriously.
#67 Ditch “References Available Upon Request”
If a hiring manager is interested in you, he or she will ask you for references—and will assume that you have them. There’s no need to address the obvious (and doing so might even make you look a little presumptuous!).
#68 Use a template.
By following a CV template you are not restricting the way in which you can express yourself, but you will find that your CV becomes easier to read and covers all the most important aspects of your work history.
#69 Fill your fresh grad CV with skills included in the job description.
Most companies nowadays use software called Applicant Tracking System (ATS). It scans those skills in your CV!
#70 Don’t: Use colorful, stylish fonts to impress an employer.
After reading this blog post you are now ready to write a CV that rock, Please double check your CV again and do the necessary. Share with us what are the top tips that catch your attention.
