CREATING YOUR CV

A recruiter usually spends 6-8 seconds scanning each resume. If he/she manages to identify the relevant information, he/she will go further, otherwise, your CV will be rejected. 

Every resume is different because it must describe you, your professional history, your skills, and achievements, but they all follow a similar structure. 

You will find a lot of models online; choose one that is structured and easy to edit. The job platforms and career pages of employers provide you with relevant, simple, and efficient models. 

1. Contact details 

The first part of the CV should contain your name, current position (e.g. Financial Analyst), location, and contact details. 

Location - mention if you are in the employer's city or surroundings, if you are moving in the near future or if you want to relocate. 

Phone number - make sure you include the country code if you are applying outside the country. 

Email address - the email should be professional, ideal [name] [first name] @ email.com. 

2. Objective & professional experience 

Start writing your CV with a professional resume or your goal: there should be no more than 2-3 sentences. If you have more than 2 years of work experience, choose a summary (years of work experience, achievements, relevant responsibilities, or what you can offer to the company). If not, choose a goal: what are your career plans? 

Your professional experience is the main section, representing the decisive factor in the recruiter's decision to contact you. 

Mention the jobs you have had so far in reverse chronological order, from the most recent job to the job in the past. For each one, specify the job title, the period of collaboration, company name, key responsibilities, achievements, or skills acquired. 

3. Skills 

Try to limit yourself to 4-6 skills related to the job you are applying for, including professional skills (hard skills) and personal skills (soft skills). Don't exaggerate your skills, because you will have to prove them in the interview. 

Examples of professional (technical) skills: digital skills, programming languages, systems, and software. 

Examples of personal skills (soft skills): customer orientation, communication, analytical thinking, attention to detail, etc. 

If you apply to a multinational company, do not omit the assessment of language skills. Be honest in your self-assessment, and only mention a foreign language if you are prepared to take a test. If the answer is yes, then grade the level of knowledge: beginner, intermediate, or advanced, depending on the criteria: spoken, written, and read. 

4. Education & certifications 

Just like the experience, education must be mentioned in reverse chronological order, from the most recent studies to the most distant in time. Each specifies the name of the educational institutions, the years of study, the diplomas obtained. Similar in the case of certifications, for professionals who are a little further in their career or who have many certificates in their portfolio. 

1. Personal projects 

If you think that your resume does not have enough information, you can improve the content by adding a personal projects section. This can help you show how well you can fit into the organization. Where relevant, personal projects can compensate for lack of experience. 

2. Volunteer experience 

Volunteering experience is relevant because it can enrich your skills. Describe the activity and briefly list the responsibilities and results. 

3. Hobbies 

Here you can reveal a little about your personality, what makes you unique and what your interests are. 

Through your hobbies, you can demonstrate discipline and commitment to an activity, and you can include personal achievements. 

It is not enough just to list them, add details to support those mentioned (e.g. writing a blog - provides a link, participating in the marathon - provides a name, year). 

recommendations:

1. First be honest - most employers will test your knowledge and skills, ask you for references, seniority certificates, etc. All information must be true and easy to prove; 

2. Be concise - do not get lost in the details of studies or experience and do not exceed 2 pages; 

3. Structure and provide relevant information - the resume should be easy to read and contain only the information necessary for the role you are applying for; 

4. Use a standardized format - no matter what format you decide to use, make sure it does not change during the document; 

5. Customize the CV; 

6. Adapt the CV to the job for which you are applying; 

7. Use keywords - which you can find in your job posting. More and more employers are using automated resume scanning systems; 

8. Supports achievements with numbers; 

9. Use strong verbs - such as “I made”, “I applied”, “I launched”, etc.; 

10. Make sure it is spelled correctly - grammatically and orthographically. 

to avoid:

1. Don't exaggerate with the details - stay concise in describing the responsibilities, skills or hobbies; 

2. Do not use clichés or jargon - try to avoid industry-specific language, the initial reading is made about the recruiter, his/her knowledge may be limited; 

3. Avoid personal details - information such as home address, age, religion; 

4. Do not provide confidential information - salary level, data, formulas / recipes used by the previous employer; 

5. Avoid negations - or words with negative connotations; 

6. Do not copy the job description from the job description - this description is much too concise; 

7. Don't overdo the text format - limit yourself to two fonts; 

8. Do not mention the experience that is not relevant; 

9. Do not use a complicated format; 

10. Do not rush to apply - check the document again before applying. 

Writing a resume seems complicated, tedious, and time-consuming. But this is a small price to pay for getting the right job. By creating an almost perfect CV, you are investing in yourself and your future.  

If your CV is ready, apply here.