In today’s fast-paced and competitive world of recruiting, creating an effective job resume can often mean the difference between success and failure. It can take time and a lot of effort to produce something that sells your skills and abilities in an inspiring way and gets you the interview in 2 pages. However, by following a few simple rules and tips, you can maximize your chances and stand out from other applicants.
Rule 1: Access the head of the HR department
Imagine the busy staff or HR manager who suddenly has an opening because someone has decided to leave for whatever reason. Now, fulfilling the role will take away some of your valuable time that you would rather spend on other things. Finding the perfect person right away would be much easier than reading through a bunch of CVs. They have a job description in front of them given to them by their boss. It includes experience or qualifications that are essential for the job and some attributes that are desirable but not absolutely necessary. They start going through the stack of CVs on the desk, scanning each one for about half a minute, and making a judgment.
Simply put, they don’t have time to read the CV that is more than two pages long and all the relevant information is hidden in long paragraphs. – It’s on file, in the trash!
Fancy formatting, colored text, or multiple fonts don’t impress. They wonder, is this person trying to hide something? Are they trying to cover up their lack of job experience behind a flashy resume? – It’s on file, in the trash!
Are there misspellings or bad punctuation? This person is just careless! – It’s on file, in the trash!
They reach the end and breathe a sigh of relief, as the pile of CVs on the desk is already much smaller. Time for another coffee and then start reading….
Rule 2: Think about how your CV will get you through the initial stage.
Make sure your resume is concise and to the point. They need to see your experience, skills and achievements in the first half minute.
They know what they want and you have what they want, so why distract them by adding a lot of unnecessary information?
Simple is better. Simple format, properly presented under clear headings. The recruiter will want to see what he has done, when he did it and where he did it. The elegant format will make your CV more difficult to read. Don’t make a resume stand out for the wrong reasons.
Be sure to keep checking your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It is the first step in your personal presentation to an employer. He says a lot about you. Also, poor English will distract the employer from reading the content of your CV.
Rule 3 – Clearly define the headings of your CV.
This is the list of headings that you should include in your CV
Contact details
Personal details
Interest profile
Work experience or career history
Education
skills
Rule 4 – Make it easy for them.
Remember, they have very little time and they don’t know you yet. They are only interested in what the company can offer.
E&OE – Copyright 2007 CV Writing Ltd
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