Your CV is the initial step to make a good first impression when you’re applying for a job. A high-quality CV will significantly increase your chances of getting a face-to-face interview, so it is worthwhile to put time and effort into the content and presentation.
Therefore, you must highlight your abilities, expertise, and showcase the value that you can add.
Here are some tips, dos, and don’ts to follow to write your golden-ticket CV.
A strong skills summary
Begin with a summary of your most important skills and accomplishments, to gain the recruiter's interest and capture their attention.
This summary part on the top of your CV is crucial because it tells the recruiter exactly who you are, and why you are the one for this job.
A Study by Ladders in 2018 stated that by using eye-tracking software they found that recruiters can make up their minds about a job candidate in only 7.4 seconds.
Here are 3 tips on how to write a skills summary:
- Choose the 3 strength skills you have
- Make them as brief and to the point as possible.
- State the number of years of relevant experience you have.
What to include in your CV
Your CV must include the following:
- Your name and contact details: Include your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
- Education & Qualifications: All previous education, including professional qualifications, should be listed and dated. Put the most recent at the top.
- Work experience: List your work experience in reverse chronological order, making sure that everything you mention is relevant to the position you're applying for. Include your job description, company details, length of time you worked, and your job role.
- Technical and personal skills: In this part, you state the languages you know and the professional technical skill you can use. The key skills you list should be applicable to the job.
Don't overdo state your abilities because you'll be required to prove your abilities during the interview.
What not to include
To increase your chances of being invited for an interview, make sure your CV does not include any of the following unnecessary information:
- Grammatical and spelling mistakes
Before Finishing your CV, you must make sure that your CV has no grammatical and spelling mistakes. You can ask a colleague to scan it to catch any mistakes you might have overlooked. Or you can use Grammarly. - Passive language
Use an active voice while writing your CV, it clarifies and simplifies your active participation and achievements for the hiring manager. - Unnecessary personal details
Age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and marital status should not be included in your CV.
This kind of information is irrelevant to your ability to perform the job; however, expect the recruiter might ask you any of them during the interview. - Unprofessional email
Make sure that the email address you include in your CV is not your High-school email. For a more professional look, you can use the custom domain name for an email from GoDaddy.
For good CV examples Click here!
Branding yourself
Branding yourself is related strongly to having a professional online presence. An online portfolio will undoubtedly increase your visibility and presence.
Therefore, creating a portfolio website allows you to easily communicate and highlight your work with potential employers.
You can start now building an outstanding portfolio website with GoDaddy website builder providing different amazing templates to match your preferences.
If you’re a student or a fresh grad who’s looking for an internship check this article out!
The GoDaddy team has created the perfect CV template for you to download and add your information directly there. Best of Luck!!
