Seeking employment begins with having your biodata ready. When you put it out there, you need to make sure that the employers notice it. If you can manage to do that, half of your work is done.
What is a CV?
First of all, you need to understand the difference between a resume and a CV. They both differ in terms of their purpose as well as layout and length.
A resume is short. Generally, it is just a summary of your skills and previous experience.
A CV, short for Curriculum Vitae, is a larger version of the resume. It is more detailed and should contain additional information about your education and work, any awards or accomplishments that you have obtained.
Basically, this is where you show off. The second thing is the crux of this matter: to get the employer or a hiring manager to notice your CV. Here’s how you go about it.
Make it easy to read.
Suppose we assume the average attention span of a normal human being that is mind blank and least interested in being 5 seconds. In that case, the hiring manager’s attention span is going to be 3-5 seconds. And nothing catches the hiring manager’s attention than a clear and concise Curriculum Vitae. You should:
- Segregate it into relevant sections;
- Use a clear, elegant font.
- Use bulleted points.
- Match your skills to the job requirements using ‘keywords.’ Move them up top. This is useful to get your CV through ‘spiders’ or ‘crawlers.’ This is very similar to SEO.
- Highlight these ‘keywords.’
- This is not an essay writing competition, so no lengthy paragraphs.
- Boost your recent position with your contributions and responsibilities.
- Show evidence or link to it if possible.
- Double-check. Triple-check. Quadruple-check. Quintuple-check. No mistakes are allowed in spelling, grammar, or in the authenticity of your data.
A CV says a lot about you. So it is your responsibility, or rather a choice, to show what you are made of. These tips will help you make it in front of the HR manager’s eyes. Making the manager like your CV is another matter.