How to make the best CV ever?

Maybe that is an exaggeration, but it isn’t far off. If you are interested in getting started on the road to a new career, JobGuru’s resume upload function is here to make sure your CV will be as read by as many employers as possible. First, however, you will have to write it. If your CV is in desperate need of an update, or if it’s your first time making a CV for work, here is our tried and tested advice on giving your resume the polish to make it shine:

Keeping Your CV Tidy

One of the worst things you can do for your CV is to crowd it up with unnecessary formatting, pictures and overall noise. All of this distracts the employer and makes it harder to focus on what should really count- the quality of information on the page. On average, an employer has to go through hundreds of CVs for any given job applications, and given this, they are pressured to throw out as many of these as they can. This is why your average look-over only lasts about 6-8 seconds! In that time, the employer decides on whether your CV goes into the bag or the bin. In order to avoid this extra hurdle, your CV should be looking spotless:

• Keep photos out of your CV unless they were specifically asked for. Photos take up space, and, far from making you seem personable, just take up space for other things that could matter. (If you do have to add a photo, make sure that you don’t go ahead changing your look before any interview happens. The employer will want to see you looking as close as possible to the original).

• When reading a CV, flow is everything- it not only keeps you on the pile, but can help you stand out more as a professional. There are plenty of good free templates available on the internet, but if you’re stuck for ideas, we have our own collection of templates you can use to make your CV. Right now, the most popular methods are organising your CV in two columns (sort of like the Cornell Method for note-taking) with your contact information, prominent achievements, or education on the left and your past working experience and skills on the right.

Another way to go about it is the traditional vertical flow- everything in order, going downwards. For this to work, you need to have plenty of space in between parts and your sentences have to be as short as possible! Nothing makes an employer feel like they’re about to read a novel when they’re presented a long, vertical block of text. Even with this method, you can break down certain sections (education and employment) into two columns to break up the space.

Less is More- Keeping Things Short and Neat

After everything is written, you’re probably going to need to cut. A lot. Most employers like to see everything written on 1-2 A4 pages, with 3 already throwing red flags. Considering legibility (you’re better off using size 12-14 fonts, with proper spacing between sections), this doesn’t give you much room for space. Although people tend to worry about not having enough to put on a CV, it’s actually the opposite that can throw you off!

A good tip for reducing as much as possible is to make alternative copies of your CV for each field or particular job that you’re applying to. In each separate CV, you only include the information that is most relevant to the particular job. This not only utilises everything you’ve got in small pieces, but makes you seem more suited to each particular line of work you apply for. It also has the added benefit of cutting down on paper.

As mentioned above, the flow of the CV can have a major impact on how its perceived. To achieve this, you need to not only know what are the most important things to include, but also how. For example, take a look at this work experience summary:

My work responsibilities involved taking care of customer complaints on the telephone, welcoming customers into the store and explaining to them any enquires they had. In addition, I sometimes had janitorial duties around the store.

That’s okay, right? The information is good, technically, although there’s probably no need to include a description of the extra odds and ends you do on your downtime. But take a look at this:

Responsibilities included customer service both in-store and online.

That certainly cut down on a lot, even though what needs to be said is still there. Doing this repeatedly will trim the fat on anything you write, and has the welcome bonus of playing on resume keywords that the employer or their software is likely looking out for- ‘exceptional’, ‘management’, ‘team leader’, being just a few of possible many.

Getting the Order Right

There is no manual for the order in which you lay out the CV, but there are some methods which make more sense than others. If you want to know our advice, here’s how we’d go about it:

1. Name with current work title underneath. These should stand out at the very top of your CV, both in large, unique lettering (though still coded differently from one another).

2. Your personal summary. This is a 2-3 sentence paragraph about your specialty, experiences and talent. Only the best stuff from your CV has to be summarised here. End it with the position you’re currently seeking. Together, it will look something like this:

Senior software developer with 15 years’ experience at Xcompany and Ycompany. Specialised in innovative project management and Python coding language. Seeking a position as a front-end developer at a new software development company.

3. Work experience- this is the main body of the text. Start with your most recent and relevant jobs, going backwards. Each of these should include the company name, your position, and the years which you worked there. A smaller heading should cap off your achievements in that company. This mean that, going in the past tense, you should mention all of the improvements and benefits that you brought to the job. The more specific the better! Facts and data of your accomplishments should be included, if available.

Finally, finish each company off with a reference the employer can talk to and their contact information. In case in needs to be said, make sure those references are real and updated. If you don’t have anyone who can give you a glowing reference for a job, leave it out- better have some awkwardness now in your CV than down the line at the interview.

4. Skills and qualifications. Now that you’ve shown that you have gotten good work before, it’s time to show particularly why you should be selected for the position. There are three main types of qualification that could be included, and you would be wise to use a mix of all three; hard skills, soft skills and universal skills. The good news is that companies are already giving you an idea of what they are looking out for in their job listings- experience with a particular platform, teamwork ability, or experience. For as much of that list as you qualify for, jot them all down under this section.

The rest will require a brainstorm of your best and most relevant skills for the job. Do you have particular knowledge that applies, such as a class or a qualification you’ve earned (hard skill) or do you have a particular knack for working with people or organising (soft skills, unless it can apply to any job- in which case it’s universal).

5. Education. Now that the bulk of the work is done, you’ll want to show them where you got your qualifications from. Your education is written in the same way as your work experience- that is, a large heading for your particular BA/MS course, followed by the college/institute, followed by the years you attended and the names of the major classes you took.

If there’s any particular standouts to your grade, achievements or GPA, you can add it there too- project accomplishments and research can also instead be added under your qualifications.

6. Miscellaneous- Languages, Volunteer Experience, Hobbies and Projects. Keep this part as short as physically possible. Only add it if it’s relevant to this job or absolutely makes you stand out- if it makes an employer lift their eyebrows in surprise, then it’s okay to keep! Relative fluency or bilingualism is always welcome, especially in international companies. Solid volunteer experience can be helpful for healthcare or local government jobs.

Last of all- Don’t be afraid to get help!
If you’re still finding the CV-drafting process difficult, or have unanswered questions, you’re in luck! JobGuru has many functions that can help you out, from CV-drafting specialists you can contact here for advice and a second opinion, or your own CV making tool with various fun formats that can be found here.

All that being said, we wish you the best of luck with your CV, and hope that with this advice, it can make its way to as many employers as possible!

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