How to write a Good CV: 11 Basic Tips!!!

How to write a Good CV: 11 Basic Tips When we think of changing the job,  the first thing that cross our mind is updating the Curriculum Vitae (also referred as 'Resume'). Though contents of all the Resume/ Curriculum Vitae (CV's) look alike, still a few are attention grabbers. Let us look into few basic tips to make our Resume/ CV a distinguishing one.

Make Your Resume Stand Out in the Crowd

How to write a Good CV: 11 Basic Tips!!!

It is said that the world will know you by the way you represent yourself. Same aspect is applicable for you to get a job and Resume or Curriculum Vitae of a person is the most preliminary representation factor for being shortlisted for a personal interview and ultimately getting a job. 

Though both the terms 'Resume' and 'Curriculum Vitae' are often used synchronously but there is minor difference between the two. Curriculum Vitae is mainly about academic accomplishments while a resume is related to summary of a candidate including the education, experience, specific skills etc.  

If we analyze the Resume or CV (I will use any of the mentioned word henceforth in this article and it should be referred to as both), we can say that it consist of three types of details: 

• Personal details
• Educational details
• Professional details

Now,  when we say it includes only this type of information,  then we might ponder that there is not much scope to represent it on paper. Also, being an experienced professional, we believe that one of the most important factor to get a job is 'Reference' (which is true generally) but still it is undeniable that even on having a good reference,  your CV should be strong enough for you to be selected for personal interview. 

Let us now have a look into 11 basic and simple tips for making the CV effective. 

1. Cover Letter:

This is the most important and most neglected part of the CV. It should be noted that for an organization, there are hundreds of CV's to be scrutinized and it is not possible for them to go through the details of all the CV's. Thus, having a well summarized 'Cover Letter' for your CV is a must.

The Cover Letter must summarize the important aspects of your professional 'Competency', basic of your 'Credentials' and your educational milestones. Start summarizing with your credential i.e. name followed by information in the descending order i.e. your current role and organization followed by the previous and lastly some important educational details like your ranks, achievements during your academics etc. Follow the same chronology in your CV.

The cover letter is always addressed to the Human Resources Department of an organization and if you are uploading it for generic use, then just mention 'To, the HR Head'. The cover letter should always be just single page document.    

2. Appropriate formatting:
After having a good cover letter, when an organization (HR team) refers your CV, the first impression is generated by the format of your CV. The formatting of the CV should be appropriate i.e. margins, line spacing, headings, page separations, table formatting, same type of bullets etc.  

This is important because if your CV has a shabby formatting, then it depicts that either you are not efficient enough to represent yourself or you are lazy in having neat presentation (which might also affect your work habits). Thus, it might impact your selection for personal interview. 

If you are not able to design or format the CV, get it formatted from a professional (doesn't cost much) or from a friend who is able to do it. 

3. Professional Photograph:

Display a decent and professional photograph (Passport size) on your CV. If the recruiter is able to see your photograph, it gives much more boost about your CV and creates an impression about you even without meeting you in person, thus giving you a positive angle.

So, update your CV and place a good professional photograph onto it now.  

4. Modification of CV as per the requirement & Use of Keywords:

This aspect is important for the experienced professionals who have been associated with varied job roles throughout their career. Remember, when applying for a vacancy, always modify your CV to emphasize on your abilities, achievements, capabilities about the required vacancy. 

E.g. if a professional is having experience in five different aspects in his/ her career and job requirement is of one of the specific one, then mention all the five but emphasize on specific one i.e. where you have worked onto it, what have you done in this profile, what were your achievements etc.

Also, always remember to emphasize on the specific keywords for the job requirement or specifically on your competency for which you want to pursue the job.  

5. Keeping it Short:

Remember that from the CV, we want the organization to know that they can consider you for a job and for this you need not have to write an essay about yourself.

Make the CV summarizing yourself, use bullets and short statements instead of lengthy ones. The length of a good and impacting CV should never be more than 3 pages (total 4 pages i.e. 1 page of cover letter).  

  

6. Use Statistics & Graphs:

 

Make it Unique- Use Graph & Statistics

Recent trend is to use statistics and graphs to demonstrate skills, experience, area of expertise in your CV. The graphs used should be specific, well distinguished and relevant to what you want to depict. 

At the same time, never overuse this aspect. Use of too many statistical data and graphs in your CV will complicate it and depict you as a complicated person. 

7. Being Truthful: 

The most important factor of any CV is representing true information. Provide only the details for which you have worked. Never provide any false information regarding your pay scale, organizations worked with, work profile etc. 

Point no. 4 of this article is regarding modification of CV as per requirement but in a truthful manner i.e. never ever modify your CV with false information for a specific job requirement. Remember that you will be questioned on the topics of job requirement and your CV,  this will depict in your answers during personal interview. 

8. Special achievements, training: 

Provide a special section for the specific set of skills acquired through special training, achievements in your professional profile or any other information that you feel is impacting enough to distinguish your CV from others and give you a upper hand.

However, remember point no. 5 of not making the CV too long. If it seems that adding a separate section like this will increase the length of the CV then cut short this section or add it to the profile related details in summarized format.

9. Reference of Re-known professional personalities: 

Provide reference to re-known professional personalities (max 2) who can endorse you for your working skills & capabilities. These personalities can often be your previous 'Boss' or known senior colleagues etc. 

Organizations often tend to call up these personalities to know about your professional background, your working capacities, your attitude etc. 

But remember these people will endorse you only if you are hard working, with good attitude and work with efficiency. For details on this, please my refer the article 'How to Win Your Boss'. 

Also, when you are applying for Leader positions, you should be able to have Leadership qualities. Refer the article on '3 Essential Tips for Being a Good Leader' for details of these qualities.  

10. Proof reading:

Once you have completed all the details in your CV, it is very very essential that you do a complete proof reading of it for spellings, grammatical errors, incomplete statements etc. The CV's that with errors have negative impact and loose to the other CV's without errors. 

Once you have done a proof reading, have it done from your friend (with adequate ability) and make immediate corrections. 

11. Routine Updates:

This aspect is very essential for the CV's submitted to online Job portals, consultants etc. Update  your CV's routinely (within short spans) of ranging from twice in a month (minor updating) to once in three months (major aspects).

Routinely updated CV's have an increase probability of selection from the Job portals. Thus, take care to visit the CV's routinely and update them.

Please do not to be disheartened if your CV is unable to get job offers (online) or is not selected when to apply for a specific job. Always remember, the organizations select the CV's as per their specific requirements. Our responsibility is to carry on with our dedicated hard work to enhance our skills. If we continue with hard work and be happy (refer article on 'Investment for Happiness'), success will surely be ours!!!

Hope you liked the above article on '11 Basic Tips for Writing an impacting 'Resume' or 'Curriculum Vitae'!!!'. If useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues and provide your feedback in the comment section. Refer my blog 'Factsforsuccess.blospot.com' for other articles and latest updates. Also, drop your Email IDs in the comment box to get the personalized notification of further new articles. 

If any personal help is needed with reference to content of CV or designing/ formatting of CV, please connect to me on 'https://www.facebook.com/shanu4888/' or write to me at 'shanu4777@gmail.com'

So, its time to re-evaluate your resume and make it impacting. Is it?