CV WRITING ADVICE

Wondering why you aren't getting a job?

Many job seekers rush to submit CVs when they come across an open position.

How often do you ask yourself if you possess the required skills and have highlighted them for the Hiring Manager to promptly spot and set you apart from the other candidates? Have you asked yourself, is your CV even getting across to the HR manager? Or if your CV is clear, precise and standing out? 

We come across many recruiters or recruitment companies who claim to provide jobs for an advance registration fee. Desperate jobseekers fall for this and instead of investing in self-improvement or sharpening their CVs, they impulsively pay the registration amounts involved for the promised jobs. And this is followed by excuses and endless waiting for the jobs to materialize.

There are no short cuts. Now is the time. Think smart and be responsible for your own success. 

Start with your CV. Ask yourself the below questions when creating your CV:

-  Is your name and contact details clearly mentioned in your CV?

-  Are all your relevant skills, related to your job role mentioned in your CV?

-  Is your experience mentioned in chronological order with the most recent on top?

Below are a few tips to ensure that your CV is noticed:

-  Contact Details: Make sure your name, contact number and email address are clearly visible.

-  Objective: Having an objective is an added advantage. It gives the recruiter an idea of what you are looking for in your career.

-  Key Skills: is an important requirement as it will hold keywords highlighting your qualities and areas of expertise. 

-  Experience: Experience should be mentioned in chronological order, with your most recent one being on the top. 

-  Job Description: Ensure that a clear job description is provided for the last 3 jobs, especially if you have a vast experience spanning a number of years. This is a necessity, because your latest experience is the most relevant one. 

-  Educational Experience: Only diplomas, degree and or certification relevant to your role should be mentioned. Going into details of your kindergarten, junior school and high school results is of no interest to the recruiter.

-  Languages: When mentioning the languages, you know, do not mention languages you are NOT FLUENT in. It is irrelevant and misleading.

-  Personal Information: Personal information should be limited only to Gender, Nationality, Visa status and driving license. Mentioning height and weight, passport number, visa number, spouse name, parents name crowds up the CV making it look ineffective and messy.

-  References: Preferably do not mention your reference details. Simple write: “References available upon request”

-  Declaration: A lot of candidate add a declaration at the end of the CV confirming the authenticity of the details provided. With or without a declaration, we trust candidates to enter their work experiences and other details truthfully and honestly.

-  Formatting: Do not use fancy font styles or colours unless maybe you are in the creative field. An ideal font would be clear and simple to read with a font size between 10-12pt.  

-  In case you work in a creative industry, like media, graphic designing, video editing, etc, it is advisable to have 2 CVs. A formal looking CV, with not many colours and designs, that can be submitted online to recruitment agencies. And another that may showcase your talent and yet is easy to read and understand. This CV can be submitted to companies directly at the time of interviews. 

Good Luck!