Today a written resume of a specialist is a required condition to apply for admission to a serious, well-paid organization. Most candidates are already being screened due to bad resume. That's why it is important to make it perfect, avoiding the typical mistakes.
The resume is also known as CV (curriculum vitae).
The first resume was created by Leonardo da Vinci in 1481 in the form of the letter to find a job.
There are a lot of opportunities for employers to find out something about hires. It can be a web-site or social network, job interview or colloquy. But your resume is the best way to tell about yourself, your abilities and experience and it will mostly help you in your job hunting. Whether you are looking for hiring companies in Seattle or aiming to work abroad, the way you present yourself through a resume will either make you or break you.
What is the structure of a CV?
Every resume has resume templates. Any CV has a set structure. Do not forget to follow it to find successfully a necessary job.
*Name and contact details. Write here all general information about yourself — your name, surname, mobile phone, address and e-mail. Make your name larger than other information. If you wish, you may add your photo.
*The goal of writing. Here you should write your main aim, a personal statement, describing the job that you want to find. Mention here the key reasons for choosing this particular work.
Example: Aim — to promote websites as SEO-specialist, to demonstrate my professional skills in this sphere.
Never write like this:
I want to find a job with a decent payments and flexible schedule.
*Education. Here you should mention all your possible education — basic and additional. If you have finished courses or had a practice, you may also add the information about them.
*Work experience. Make a list and write the date of working and the name of organization. Move your last working place at the beginning. What should you do if you don't have any experience? Think over and recollect all possible part-time jobs you have had. It can be some volunteer organization, freelancing or any kind of leadership position at the university.
The norm is when a person works in one company for 2-3 years. If he changes jobs more often, he can be a job hopper. About 70% of employers do not want to consider such candidates.
*Skills and achievements. Here you should write about your knowledge of computers and IT technologies. If you learn any foreign language, do not forget to write about it.
*Interests. Tell here about your hobby and what do you like to do when you have a free time. If you are searching for a work of a tutor or a teacher, you may tell that you prefer reading methodological literature and do self-development due to it.
*Personal qualities. They include: vigor, openness, ability to work in a team, initiative, stress resistance, leadership and so on.
CV shows your writing skills. It is necessary to tell a great deal of information in 1 document page. It shows that you can structure all information logically and clear. Read your resume few times. Check all grammar and spelling mistakes before sending it.
Your resume should include your achievements for each work place. It will increase your chances to receive a job.
And that is all. The structure of CV is easy and understandable. But how to make it good and more attractive for employers? There are a few secrets for a successful resume.
Editing and format.
Do not write the title “Curriculum vitae” at the top of the page.
It is considered that the ideal length of a resume is two pages. One page resume is too short, it is permissive only for students, and three pages are too much.
Choose professional fonts such as Times New Roman, size 12-14. Your headings should be between 14-18 size. Do not reduce your page margins to less than 1.27cm because the text will be difficult to read.
Use only simple words and expressions without any formalism. Your phrases should be written personally by you and can not be copied from the Internet. All sentences should be fairly short without complex structures.
Without fail, it is important to proofread the edited CV. One can also use some top-notch proofreading service in the market to get that done easily at the affordable price
And some more tips:
- Never tell the salary you received earlier. Do not tell why you left your previous work.
- Employers usually spend 8 seconds to read any resume, so write clear, briefly and laconically!
- Take away incomprehensible abbreviations and rephrase pattern phrases.
- Do not send the same CV to each employer. Waste some time and change information for every job to seem more suitable.
- Do not include your date of birth and your marital status. All people have the same rights to receive a job and this information can not affect your abilities and it is against the law to ask it.
- Write true to life information and never lie to the employer. Anyway, he will manage to discover real you and your untruth may spoil your reputation.
- Open the company's web-site and find out any specific information they want to see in your resume. There may be specific skills or traits needed in future co-workers.
- Give someone else to read your CV. Another person may read it as if he is an employer and tell you what can be changed or added.
- If you will put your resume to the web-site, keep the information up-to-date to be ready for a new job every moment!
- Save your CV in DOCX format in order to make some edits by you and notes by a recruiter. Do not use PDF and ODT.
A good resume is a summary of your life experience that was written and rewritten. In its entire history (from the premier place of work to the last one), your resume can be rewritten up to 20-30 times.
Ask a simple question to yourself: What the employer will think about me after reading my CV? After answering, you will realize what to include, delete or emphasize. Good Luck!
