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Knowing how to write a CV is an essential life hack that will help you anytime you pursue a new job. This document also serves as a personal marketing tool that’ll help you sell your skills to a potential employer.
More recently, many job seekers have been turning to professional CV makers to help them create great resumes that help them stand out, especially in highly competitive job markets. They save time, are efficient, and are cost-friendly.
This is why we recommend checking out platforms like Adobe Express, which offers a CV maker featuring easy-to-use templates that will help you design a customized CV fit for your industry and role.
With that said, here are a few pointers to remember when building a CV that will get you hired.
Read The Job Application Requirements and Processes to Follow
You’d be surprised at just how many people rarely read the instructions that come with job posts. Most people either skim through the instructions or have a rough idea of what they should do when applying for the role. But this small oversight can prove to be detrimental and cost you the job.
Job posts often include specific directions that more often that not will filter out candidates who don’t pay attention to detail. Carefully and slowly read the job posting to understand what the employer is looking for.
For instance, does this role require specific skills, certifications or experiences that need to be highlighted. Or perhaps the interviewer prefers a certain format i.e pdf, specific page count, text sizes, and contact details.
Ignoring these details when writing your CV can give the impression that you’re not thorough or attentive and will cost you the job.
Learn All You Can About The Company, Including Their Philosophies and Culture
When applying for a job, understanding the company you’re applying to is perhaps one of the most important tools for building a CV that not only gets you noticed but also helps you stands out as a perfect fit.
Learn all you can about the core values, philosophies, and approaches to business. Why is this important? You need to align your qualifications and skills with the specific values, philosophies, and culture of the company you are applying to.
Tailor Your CV For That Specific Role
It can be fairly tiring and tedious to change your CV everytime you apply for a new job. But there is no subsititute for this because hiring managers can easily spot generic and vague CVs. Remember that these professionals receive hundreds (if not more) of application during a specific staffing campaign.
Failing to tailor your CV for that specific job only makes you look lazy while lacking effort and interest. On the other hand, if you read the instructions, learn more details about the company and then tailor your CV, you appear genuinely interested in the role.
Format Your CV Well
A winning CV is not just about listing your experiences and skills. It’s also about formatting it well to draw attention to your strengths while making it easy for readers (in this case, recruiters) to find key information.
Here are some key tips to keep in mind when formatting your CV:
- When formatting your resume, it’s best to choose a simple but professional layout that affords plenty of white space to highlight your text and make it easy to read. The design should reflect or match the industry you are targeting, i.e., a graphic designer’s resume cannot be the same as a finance analyst’s resume because of the aesthetics required with the former.
- Text size is massively important, as you don’t want your resume discarded because of readability issues. As a rule of thumb, opt for a 14-point font to make it easy to read. As mentioned above, balance this out with decent white space to make it easy to scan through.
- Keep it short – remember, it’s not about how many pages you can fit into this document, but how quickly or easily a hiring manager can read. Aim for 2 to three pages that focus on the most relevant of experiences.
- At the top of your resume, make sure your name and contact details (mobile number and email address) are easily visible. This is your first point of contact and should be impossible to miss.
- Begin with a career summary or professional profile that showcases your relevant experience, core competencies, and technical skills. This section should capture the reader’s attention right away.