A study proved that less than 8 seconds are enough for recruitment specialists to make a decision about a candidate’s CV!

It is like you will submit a paper to the company you want to work for, and this paper will either convince recruiting professionals that you are suitable for the job opportunity, so they will contact you for an interview, or this paper will make them skip it without any attention!

Preparing your CV in a professional and exemplary way, will give you chances to conduct a lot of interviews, and will save you from long periods of applying for jobs, without any response.

Although preparing an outstanding CV is very important, it is not complicated at all. You can follow these tips, to get a good CV in the easiest way:

1- Write it in a direct and a short way

As we mentioned above, recruits have tens or maybe hundreds of CVs to look at, so they don’t have enough time to read a long CV in boring details. These following tips will help you write a short CV:

• Do not prepare a CV that exceeds a single page, unless for a strong and influential reason, such as previous experiences that positively influence the recruiters’ decision.
• Your CV must fit the job you are applying for, so do not submit the same CV for any job in order not to seem unrelated. Take your time and update your CV to be customized for every opportunity.
• Don’t mention unrelated information, like a job you worked on that is not related to your current career path, or your favourite hobbies, etc,.

2- Prepare your customized CV template

Although ready-made CV templates available on the internet are often professional, they are not always the ideal choice.

Recruiters review a huge number of resumes daily, most of them are ready-made templates, so preparing your own CV from scratch will grab recruiters attention, and help you to stand out.

Your way of presenting the most important information about your career path, may need a different approach from the one used in the ready-made templates, so invest your time in preparing your CV in your own special way.

3- Use the keywords mentioned in job postings

If you are interested in a specific job, and are preparing your CV to apply for it, there is a very important thing to do when writing your resume: it is to study the job description well, and search in it for keywords you can write in your CV to show that you may be the ideal candidate.

This helps your CV to seem like it was tailored to this position and company, and this positively affects the recruiters impression of you.

4- Pay attention to the CV format

CVs have a certain format that is universally followed, be sure to follow this format by:

• • Using a professional basic font such as Arial or Times New Roman.
  • Not using too many or unnecessary colors, as they will distract the reader and are considered unprofessional.
  • Reducing white spaces and organizing the content well.

5- Highlight your achievements

Sometimes, it is a little boring to list your job roles below every work experience. You can replace this by talking about your achievements in each position & company, and including numbers that measure these achievements where possible. It is also good to devote a separate section to mention your achievements and skills that make you stand out.

6- Use strong action words

Unmotivated and lackluster descriptions of your work experience are not helpful at all. Your CV should convey a positive image of you using positive, enthusiastic and strong words, that inspire confidence and competence.

When referring to any of your job experiences, you can use words like “established”, “achieved”, “improved” in your projects or roles description.

On the other hand, avoid using buzzwords such as “go-getter”, “team-player” and these kinds of expressions, as they don’t convey a high value meaning, and they seem to be repeated in all CVs.

7- List your professional contacts

What is the use of a CV if it does not include your contacts? You should write your phone number, professional email, and put your accounts on platforms like LinkedIn, clearly in your CV.

Avoid mentioning social media accounts that aren’t related to work, unless you use them for marketing and networking practises, and if any of your social media accounts are not professionally applicable, never mention them in your CV.

Now, by applying these tips, you will create a unique CV that the recruitment professional will give a good time to read. And if you need any help writing your CV, feel free to contact the team of 180 degrees for empowering people!