At RecruitmentRevolution.com, we receive CVs from thousands of hopeful candidates however not all of them employ the best techniques. We’ve compiled a list of recommendations with some tips from The Undercover Recruiter to make sure your resume is the best it can be.
Personal Information
Your resume should be a one stop shop for employers to glean as much information about you as possible so they know who and what to expect when it comes to a face-to-face interview. Vital details that must be on your resume include:
• Contact information – Recruiters and employers must be able to reach you so be sure to include your full name, telephone number and email address. It may not be necessary to include a postal address, but be sure that any email you provide is of a professional nature – no nicknames or silly monikers.
• Headline – This is a small paragraph, blurb or description of yourself and what you want from your job. Otherwise known as your ‘objective’ or ‘personal statement’, it should give an outline of your work ethic with a few keywords describing your personality and work targets.
Remember, these initial points must display a candidate’s personality with carefully selected words and information that relates to their professional manner. Those reading your resume will have seen many in the past so it is important to stand out in the right way.
Experience and Education
Possibly the most important part of your CV is the experience and education section. When presenting this information candidates should consider:
• Relevant education – It is not necessary to include every single grade you have ever received, i.e., your GCSEs are less relevant than A Levels or degrees. Ensure you include the grades received for your highest level of education as well as the subjects studied.
• Work history – Focus on the past ten to fifteen years of your work history, highlighting your position, the dates you worked for that company and the elements which made up your role. Explain briefly how your skills helped you excel within that role. Do not include previous salary information as it is important to not appear too motivated by financial gain – unless you’re in a sales role.
Formatting Your CV
Another very important part of making up a CV is ensuring that the formatting and grammar portray an intelligent and careful individual. Spelling and grammatical mistakes are inexcusable as there are numerous points at which mistakes can be rectified before presenting a resume to a recruiter. Always remember the following:
• Make it look professional – Choose a plain font, like Arial,Times New Roman or Serif, at a 10-12 point size. Do not include any colloqualisms like emoticons or excessive use of exclamation points and present information clearly, using bullet points for lists.
• Keep it concise – You may want to include every last detail of your entire work history as you believe it to be relevant, but it must be kept concise if recruiters are to stay interested and be engaged in your personality.
• Check spelling and grammar – With so many spellcheck options and time to proofread, there are no excuses for shoddy grammar and spelling. Check and double check what you have written and always look at it from the perspective of the recruiter.
There are numerous places to find step-by-step guides for creating a resume, but these key points are all you need to ensure the basics are in place to build upon it.
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