7 Tips For A CV That Works For You
In today‘s job market, you want to make the most out of every job opportunity that arises. The Curriculum Vitae (CV) is the entry point to your dream job. You have one chance, so focus on getting it right.
There are enough of guidelines for creating a good CV on the internet. They all tell you essentially the same thing. Below are tips for what I feel you must take into consideration when making a stand-out CV.
Here are tips for making a great CV:
1. Don‘t use these words in your CV: Maybe, Perhaps, May, Might, Probably, Try, Hope.
Your employers don‘t want to read in your CV that you are going to try your best or you may be able to learn quickly or you will probably be very good in this job or I hope I will fulfill your expectations. You get the drift. You will do your best, you will learn quickly, you are very good for this job.
2. Send the CV as a PDF document, not as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx).
The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a format for displaying and printing documents consistently. The documents are guaranteed to look the same on any computer and the printed version is guaranteed to look exactly like on screen. The fonts you use are embedded in the PDF file, the images in the document (if any) are compressed so the file size is reduced, and you can‘t edit the PDF document. So no one can steal your CV template which you spent so much time creating. Besides, Word documents (.doc and .docx) can contain viruses and are often automatically removed from email attachments. And it just looks unprofessional to receive a Word document. Convert your document from Word to PDF here: www.doc2pdf.net
3. Do a search on yourself on Google.
While Google is almost always your friend, it has a way of never forgetting things. If your name is relatively uncommon (like Gzack Ritrovado Francese rather than John Smith), chances are you will appear among the first results in Google. You don‘t want your prospective employers to stumble upon your blog post where you talk negatively about your previous employers. Also you don‘t want them to see a picture of you very drunk, holding a glass of beer, wearing a sweater with your previous employer‘s logo on it, partially obscured by the cigar you are holding. And they were just reading in your CV that you are a non-smoker and you don‘t drink.
4. Have someone read over your CV.
This one sounds obvious, but many people still don‘t do it. As I said, you only have one chance, and some people are very irritated by even the most innocent spelling or grammar mistakes. Also, when you work on writing text for a long time, you turn blind for faults in your own work. It always helps to get input from others.
5. Make minor customizations to your CV for different types of employers.
If you are applying for a job, say, at a bank, you should focus your CV on your job related skills, experience and education and not much besides that. Bankers usually have no taste for CV‘s that discuss at length your love of Kung Fu movies or how you love children and want to help poor people. I say not much, because you should note your interests in a very short section.
On the other hand, if you are applying for a job that involves some artistic creativity, like web design, teaching, writing, you should spend more time discussing your interests and who you are as a person. Your employer might want to hear about what books you are reading right now and perhaps a little more detail on what extra-curricular activity you take part in.
I don‘t recommend totally changing your CV based on where it is going to be sent. It‘s just too much work, and thus quality will suffer. Just make subtle modifications.
To convert an image between various image file formats, you can use the Image Format Converter.
6. Consider having a picture of you in the CV (professional looking only!).
This one depends on the country where you live as well as the company you apply to. Some employers would like to see a picture of you besides your name on your CV. It also helps to make your CV stick out in their minds. However, in some countries this is considered awkward.
If you do decide to include your picture, make sure it looks professional. Don‘t look like a fool. This sounds obvious, but some people still do send in pictures of them looking like a fool (sometimes deliberately, I‘ve seen it myself!). If your going to be taken seriously, look serious. Funny pictures in CV‘s are sooo 2007.
7. Don‘t try to make the prospective employer think you‘ve always wanted to work at their company.
Sometimes people like to try to convince the company that is reviewing your CV that you‘ve always wanted to work there and that that company is your number one choice. This sounds awkward if you are not applying to famous companies like Microsoft or Google, big banks, McDonalds (!), NASA or the KGB. It feels awkward for someone to read that you‘ve always wanted to work at precisely this store, the local Donuts are US.
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May 14th, 2009 at 10:26 am
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May 15th, 2009 at 6:05 am
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May 30th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Great tips! Thanks.
If anyone else is interested, more tips can be found here: http://www.jobsuploaded.co.uk/blogs/2/top-cv-tips
June 5th, 2009 at 5:32 am
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June 13th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Great tips man…. It will really help me to improve my CV and find a better job.
Thanks….
June 28th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
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July 5th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
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July 14th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
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July 15th, 2009 at 3:15 am
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July 17th, 2009 at 2:12 am
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July 26th, 2009 at 10:02 am
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October 29th, 2009 at 1:13 am
Also, Openoffice.org has inbuilt pdf conversion.
Regarding CV tips, I don’t think including a photo of oneself is a good idea. It increases the chances of looks based discrimination (unless of course you are applying to the movie/modelling industry and such).
November 1st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Its great support to convert docs to pds, real thanks, did anyone experienced that pictures are NOT converted, i converted my CV three time but the picture in my pdf is blank, does some one know whats the issue
November 15th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
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November 19th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
@Sap: You are probably right. It does depend on the local culture
@Addie: Pictures are converted in general. If you can send me the document (see http://www.doc2pdf.net for email address) I could check why it doesn’t work.
@Mahmoud Karam: Thanks for the tip. I’ll do that.
Thanks to everyone for your positive comments.