A CV may not get you a job; however it may get you eliminated, if you do not know how to present yourself in your CV professionally. Long CV can get the reader lost and can hide important information about you.
1. Get ready to write. First with you will need a computer (pen and paper will also do), clear CV objectives and good language skills. Remove short duration jobs from your CV. Insignificant details dilute the picture of the talents you are marketing. Keep you CV no more than 3 pages long with, the most import information should be able to fit on these first two pages.
2. Eliminate jobs that you held before. You do not need to mention every job, especially if there were short durations. Traditionally, the last three jobs should be what you mention. Keep in mind that prospective employers are pressed for time when they are reviewing your CV. This will help your CV outshine the other applicants.
3. Highlight information about your jobs. Therefore information in hobbies like swimming, watching rugby and cooking international food should not be on your CV. As this will make your CV read like a personal classified, rather than a job applicant. Keep the information on your CV relevant.
4. Have a clear Career Summary. This will help save time and reduce redundancies. Take the time to learn how to write one. Keep in mind you need to tailor your objective first to the experience that you have, then to the requirements of the job you are applying for. Widening the margin is not the best solution.
5. Use distinctive but simple words. This makes your CV stand out. When you write use active words, for instance when you use and action word/verb at the beginning of the sentence it helps the reader understand what you are able to do faster than if the action word is buried somewhere deep in the sentence. An receptionist may write, Answered the phone and directed calls to the relevant recipients. Avoid overly elaborate (flowery) descriptions that make you sound like you are hiding something.
6. Include other relevant information about your work. Ensure that you have information about awards, achievements and organizational activities that will help portray you in a better light. These items create a picture of you as a whole person as opposed to being just another employee. Ensure that they are character building, relevant to the job/company and can help you stand out.
7. Remove references available upon request. Instead list your referees indicating their full name, job title, place of work, the company address, your referees phone number and email address. Pick at least one that has worked with you and one that can be your character witness.
Armed with this information you should be able to come up with a CV that can help you ensure that the message that you are portraying of yourself to your future employee is relevant, interesting and convince them that you are the one to do their job.
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