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Assistance to the applicant: the best CV tips

A resume (from the French – ‘summary’) is a document that contains brief information (previous work experience, education, abilities, contact information, etc.) about a job seeker. This information helps an employer to choose the right candidate among the many applicants for the vacant position. You can consider this as a commercial offer, the purpose of which is to sell you, or rather your knowledge, skills, experience.

The different emphasis for different jobs

To begin with, pay attention that the universal summary, suitable for any profession, does not exist. In each profession, they are different, and each species must show the most important information for a particular profession.

For example, for a sales manager, it’s important to show the experience in increasing sales. In technical professions, it’s necessary to implement various skills and knowledge in practice, in marketing – projects with a fast return of investment.

Follow a perfect structure

Recruiters saw many CV structures and a sequence of presentation of information. In general, the ideal sequence of information in the resume contains:

  1. Surname – name.
  2. Photo.
  3. Contacts (only phone number, city, do not indicate mailing address).
  4. Your career goals.

Key competencies are part of experienced professionals. The recruiter may not want to read the entire resume, but he will see the key competencies. Here the job seeker needs to indicate all professional qualities and achievements, as well as indicate several personal qualities.

  • Education.
  • Pieces of training and courses.
  • Work experience (at the top – the latest place of work, below – earlier ones).
  • Additional information (languages, knowledge of programs, driver license).

Do not add tables, extra information, write about skills that your work does not need. Remember, a good resume is easier to read, easier to understand.

Keep a resume short

Recruiters believe that a perfect CV size is strictly two pages. If it’s too small, it’s only permissible for students. If everything’s clear with one page – this CV looks like a document of a novice specialist – then with three, four, so on pages, everything isn’t so obvious.

So, there’s a simple answer: the recruiter will only look at two pages in 80% of cases. Therefore, whatever you write on the third and subsequent pages, it will remain without attention. If you write there valuable information about yourself, the recruiter will not know about it.

Assessment of own advantages

To create a resume that will make an employer immediately want to hire you, it’s necessary to determine your key advantages. It’s possible by answering the following questions:

  • Why am I better than others?
  • Why exactly should I get this job?
  • What am I doing better than others?
  • How do I differ from my colleagues?
  • What have I done significantly in my career?
  • What are my life achievements?

If you answer these questions, then you will have something to fill out the most viewed resume area, namely achievements in career/life.

Take an example from landing pages

You’ve probably met cool website landing pages on the Internet. Your CV should be no worse. A good resume is always interesting to read. Each phrase in the resume strengthens the desire to hire a specialist. It has very simple and intuitive navigation (sections).

Also, the CV must comply with generally accepted standards. Therefore, if you’re not a designer and not a representative of a creative profession, do not use any background pictures in the resume.

Do not forget that the main task of a document aimed on showing the true value of you as a professional. If you did not immediately show your true value, then in an interview it will be more difficult to do.

Summary

In each specific situation, there will be many more nuances. But don’t worry, no one excludes candidates just because they sent a standard or boring resume. You can also ask for help from special agencies that will create the best resumes for you that can interest the recruiter and increase your chances to get hired.