Applying for jobs but not getting the final interview are common experiences for most job-seekers. Below is a short 6 step guide on what to remember when writing your CV. Make it look professional, stand out and avoid silly errors can be the difference when it comes to landing the dream job.
Here are five crucial steps you must always remember before you send in your CV:
Your CV should demonstrate your own unique blend of skills, experiences and personality. Make sure you include examples of commercial success, problem resolution or management achievements. Always put the latest achievements first, these are the ones you want to highlight. Make extra effort into structuring the CV to highlight your best sides, and think of how you may stand out from the rest of the candidates.
Your choice of font and layout are key to making sure a would-be employer carries on reading your CV. Clean, simple formats and design work best to attract the readers attention when scanning through the list CVs. Another thing to remember, is that these days a lot of CVs are only scanned through so called ATS systems. These are "scanners" if you like, who look for keywords and calculates whether you may be a fit for the job before your CV gets sent to the hiring manager. In some big companies, as much as 70% of CVs are discarded before they are even seen by a human being. To make sure your skills and experiences gets caught up by these machines, use a simple font, not too small letter size, and try to include as many relevant key words as possible.
Work out who or which industry sector your CV is destined for, and tailor it to highlight the right aspects of your experience for them. Being too generic in the CV will not meet the individual positions requirements, often highlighted with keywords in the job-description. Being aware of the industry and section, you can with simple changes increase the quality of your CV immediately, and catch the attention of both ATS systems and hiring managers.
Avoid errors at all costs. This means spelling mistakes, dates which conflict with one another and incorrect email address and phone number. First impressions matter, and silly spelling mistakes can be the reason alone you are not being called up for an interview. Especially if you misspell something important, like the company name, you stand with very little chance of ever having a future in that company. You can be the perfect candidate for the position, but you can still be rejected based on simple errors. The hiring managers will think that if you have spelling errors in your CV, how will you be able to do this job properly? Print out your CV, go over it in detail, then have a friend or family member go over it as well, and you should be safe.
Firing off an old CV, or a CV tailored for a completely different industry will look unprofessional, so make sure that yours is regularly updated to meet the requirements of the jobs you are applying for. As in the generic point, paying attention to the specific job-advertisements, and updating your CV in terms of individual requirements will increase the quality immediately.
By following nice, professional looking template you can ensure a professional look and top performance straight away, without any knowledge in the area or great designer skills. You can for instance use the CV templates available in the CV package we provide. This way, you are not restricted the way in you express yourself, but your CV becomes easier to read and covers all the most important aspects of your work experiences and achievements in a better structured way. If you are for instance applying for China, use the templates specifically designed for industries there, provided by some of the biggest companies in China.
