Your CV is often your passport to getting that dream job. More often than not, hiring managers will meet your CV before they get the chance to meet you. As a matter of fact, what they make of your CV determines if they get to meet you or not.
In this article, we share with you 6 easy steps to writing a fantastic CV
- Clean clear formatting.
Formatting speaks to how you arrange and organise the content on your CV. There are different types of formatting options available. Chronological, functional, and combination.
Chronological formatting structures your CV in order of most recent academic and professional experience to the earliest. This pattern of formatting is suitable if you have a lot of academic and professional experience to showcase.
Functional formatting concentrates on displaying skills and achievement than professional experience. It is most suitable for recent graduates, candidates who are changing career, and candidates who lack professional experience but have skills and/or awards to showcase.
Combination formatting simply combines the chronological and functional formatting styles.
- A concise heading at the top of the first page
Now, your heading is the next opportunity to showcase yourself to a prospective employer. Your heading, which is usually located at the top of your CV just below your name and contact, should be a short concise phrase that describes your value as a candidate. Some examples of headings are;
- Registered pharmacist with work experience in global health interventions.
- Computer scientists skilled in designing networking systems
- Award-winning writer and brand manager
Ensure your heading is written in bold letters
- Skills/keyword section
Every job role has specific skills and competencies needed to excel. It is essential to have a section where you make a list of your skills and competencies. Recruiters pay attention to this section of your CV as they match the required skills for the role with the skills you have listed. Recruiters are also using automated systems to find candidates who best meet the defined skill set for a particular job role.
- Readable fonts
Ensure your fonts are readable. Recruiting managers usually have a lot of CVs to go through, you don’t want recruiters struggling to read the content on your CV. Young candidates may be drawn to using artistic fonts. Artistic fonts may look good, but may not be easily readable.
- Put down your accomplishment
Accomplishments are a great way to showcase capacity and eventually impress recruiters. Go beyond just making a list of skills and job roles, tell recruiters what you achieved in those roles.
Use facts and figures in showcasing your accomplishment.
- Proofread
We are all prone to writing mistakes. The last thing you want to do is send a CV full of errors to a recruiter.
Ensure you check your CV for spelling mistakes and grammatical error. A great way to do this is by getting a second eye to look at what you have put together. They may spot errors that you didn’t.
Nothing can stop you now. Use these 6 steps and get yourself a fantastic CV.