This guide outlines the crucial things you should do and definitely not do in CV and resume writing.
Are you looking for a job? You probably know that there are a lot of companies that are looking for employees. But, of course, they have some expectations and needs and will select only the candidates that meet them.Your resume or CV is the first thing a recruiter interacts with. It showcases your experience, skills, hobbies, and so on. And it has to be engagin, catchy, and smooth to convince the recruiter to set up an interview with you.
However, as the competition on the market is fierce, the task of CV and resume writing becomes overwhelming. You might be stressed by this idea and you might start looking for help. Well, there are professional CV writers that can help you build an impressive resume. However, if you want to first write it by yourself and then have a trained eye edit it, you should know that this is possible too.
Resume writing: what to do
Here are some tips and tricks that will help you with CV and resume writing in the form of do’s and don’ts.
Adapt Your Resume
One of the mistakes many candidates make with resume writing is using the same resume when they apply for jobs from different domains. Your experience might be diverse. And it might be irrelevant to some positions you apply to. For example, you may have worked as a nanny during college and now you’re applying for a marketing position. A company would be more interested in finding out the activities you have been involved in that are relevant to the position. In this case, maybe your voluntary experience involved working on marketing tasks, for example.
List Your Experience
One of the do’s you need to apply in resume writing is to list your experience. But when you have many relevant experiences, how do you highlight them? Are there any tips you need to follow? Well, you need to list your experience in reverse chronological order. This means that you should start with the actual or last job you had. When you want to present your accomplishments, write the most important ones first. Keep in mind that recruiters are spending at most 10 seconds skimming your resume. So, the most relevant and important information should be at the top or highlighted.
Mentions Your Hobbies and Skills
The thing is, every activity teaches you something. For example, if you volunteered during college, you might have learned how to work in a team and collaborate harmoniously. All those written tasks you had taught you to express your ideas coherently, both written and spoken. You may have been part of a sports team, which taught you to train and work for your goals. It is important to take a look at your experiences and present the ones that are relevant and important. Mentioning your hobbies when resume writing is a thing to do too. The recruiter can get to know you better.
Resume writing: what to avoid
Use a General Template
If you are crafting your first resume, you might find it easier to use a template you find online for resume writing. However, you should know that a lot of candidates are doing the same thing and this is a don’t. Why? Because all resumes will look the same. Remember that you need to stand out from the crowd and catch the attention of recruiters. You can do this by listing the most relevant experience first. But using a custom template can help create a different feeling. It may take you more time to build it, but it will surely be worth it. And this effort will pay off.
Create a Lengthy Resume
One of the biggest don’ts for resume writing. Many candidates have working and voluntary experience they want to present in their resume. In some cases, showcasing all your jobs might not be the right thing to do. You may end up with a lengthy CV no one will read. Keep in mind that the competition is fierce, so recruiters are receiving dozens of resumes daily. They simply do not have the time to spend a lot of time on each resume, so you need to take care of its length. Aim to have a one-page CV and include only relevant information.
Generic information
The last don’t for resume writing is to not include generic information. Or, to not craft your resume using common phrases. For example, when you list your skills, you might be tempted to say that you have good communication skills. There is not a mistake in saying this, but it would be useful to share an example too. Of course, if you have enough space for this. Even though you may not end up including all the examples you want, it is important to have them in mind. If you are invited to an interview, you might be asked to come up with examples that support your claims. And like this, you will be prepared to answer those questions. Also, don’t use empty phrases in your CV or resume.
Summary
Looking for career advice? Do you want to know how to craft a compelling CV? Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help you build an impressive resume that will catch the attention of recruiters. Landing your dream job might be challenging during this competitive time, but crafting a nice resume could help you. Adapt your resume to the industry you apply to, list your relevant experience first, and mention your skills and hobbies. Stay away from creating a lengthy resume and using generic information or phrasing. Work on your custom template too and you will end up with an excellent and eye-candy CV.
