What is a CV/Resume?
CV/Resume is a personal marketing piece of writing or document that tells a recruiter or an employer about you, your professional history and your skills, abilities and achievements. Ultimately, it should highlight why you are the best person for the job.
How to format it
- Keep your CV/Resume to 2 pages maximum and use Arial font size 11
- Avoid italics or underlined words
- Check your spelling and grammar
- Use bullet points to break up text and avoid acronyms, abbreviations and internal terminology
- Avoid trims, grids and borders, tables and graphics as documents are difficult to scan
What to include
- Your CV/Resume should always be truthful and accurate. Use it to explain who you are, what you have done, what skills and knowledge you can offer and what your career goals are.
- Include your personal contact information and check that it is correct – your name, full address including your postal/zip code, cell/mobile number and email address if you have one. The first line must contain only your name, with a separate line for your address, phone number and email address
- Use a professional email address e.g. firstname.lastname123@gmail.com.
- Start your education summary with the highest qualification and a subject summary. Only mention training that is relevant to the application.
- In your work experience, start with your most recent and clearly list who you worked for, job title, for how long, what you did and your achievements. Focus on the most recent and relevant and shorten previous roles. Explain any gaps in employment.
- Use powerful action verbs to start sentences, e.g. improved, negotiated, reduced, etc
- Include any relevant skills, professional associations, volunteer experience and even hobbies but keep it brief. Be clear, structured and concise
- One CV/Resume will not fit all applications. It needs to be a very targeted document for the role you are applying for. Build a master CV/Resume but adjust it for each role you are applying for, focusing and expanding on what is most relevant..
What not to include
- A photograph, copies of your certifications, ID, transcripts, unless requested
- Your marital status, date of birth, medical history, religion, dependents or your current salary
- Remember, the difference between landing an interview and being declined can often be due to the CV/Resume. Do not fall short because your CV/Resume does not express your skills and your ability to do the job.