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Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash - Image by @upklyak on freepik

It's hard to be an expert at something that we rarely do, so let's focus on doing a long and tedious exercise: Let's create our curriculum vitae (CV)/résumé...

- Two pages maximum -

For information, recruiters spend about 20 seconds analysing our CV, which means we have to get right to the point. So, let's opt for the double-sided page at most.

- Design -

Recruiters want the see what they are looking to be clear, easy to find and understandable. Which means a concise list, organized in reverse chronological order, of what we have accomplished... in other words, a traditional CV.

We are sometimes tempted to be creative in designing our CV, believing it will help us stand out. WE SHALL RESIST this impulse (Unless it is a graphic designer or a creative position). To mark the difference, let's do it with the content, rather than the form : using compelling descriptions that shows we're good at the job. And if we want to bring colour, let’s consider what it will look like on paper printed in color or in black and white. (Small information: black text on a red frame, gives a beautiful black frame without text, when printed in black and white = therefore, avoid!)

- List our previous jobs -

Let's keep track of our professional history, starting with the most recent. Let's create a « Professional experience » frame, indicating : the name of the employer; the dates of occupation (from year to year -or- from month year to month year) and our function/title.

Our CV is a marketing document, it is not intended to tell our entire life, so it is not necessary to include all the jobs we had and we can very well choose what to include, depending on which will strengthen our candidacy or not (Be careful, I am not talking about lying).

- Let's create a list of our accomplishments -

Some people just quote actions such as « handling phone calls » or other activities to which they have been assigned. But that only indicates what our job description was. We need to illustrate that we are good at this job, by explaining what we have actually accomplished. It is true that sometimes it is difficult to think of our work in terms of accomplishments, so let’s imagine what would have happened in the hands of someone unfit for the job. The difference between this person and us is what we want to appear on our CV. Then we repeat the operation for each employer.

For example : First contact for incoming calls, in order to guide customers in their choice or to the requested service.

- Our education -

As a general rule, this section should appear after the « Professional experience » section. Because in theory, employers are more interested in our experience than in our diplomas (Unless the training is more important, because of little relevant experience).

Very often, this section only has a line or two, indicating the place of our education and the diplomas obtained. We are free to specify the year of graduation or not. But let's avoid detailing each option of our school path, or going back to kindergarten (or even nursery).

- Our profile -

This section is a short list, two to three sentences or bullet points, summarizing who we are as a candidate and what sets us apart from other candidates. To make it easier for us, let's imagine what someone would say about us professionally, if they only had 20 seconds to express it.

- Our skills -

This section is not always necessary, as we have listed our accomplishments for each job. However, the use of certain tools does not always seem to be clearly communicated in the description of our professional experiences. Thus, including this section of « Skills » allows us to specify the software and foreign languages that we master.

- Our contact details -

Since we are waiting for the recruiter to contact us, it is important to communicate : our name ; our address ; our phone number and email address. We may also mention our Skype or LinkedIn link.

- A little extra -

Some recruiters find the following sections interesting, others see in them leads on our profile.

Mentioning our volunteer work may be relevant. For recent graduates, it is possible to introduce information on certain extracurricular activities (when these are judicious).

We can specify that we are free immediately or « from… ». Or, specify who our reference persons are or note « references on request ».

We can, if we wish, add a headline to our CV, encompassing : our function and/or our specialty ; the number of years of experience and the keywords that qualify us.

It is also possible for us to include a « Hobbies » section. Choose hobbies carefully. So let's avoid specifying that we have a soft spot for skydiving, especially if we are applying for an insurance company (this will avoid to our colleagues to wonder if we will be back Monday morning).

Let's think twice, before putting a photo on the CV : it is not mandatory and can be a basis for judgment on the part of recruiters.

Conclusions

When a CV meets recruiters' requirements while reflecting our personality, it can be seen as the key to get a job interview, which will potentially open the door to our future career.

What do you think?