10 Advices To Write A Good CV
If a new job is a door then a good CV should be the key to open it.
What is a CV and why is it so important?
CV stands for curriculum vitae and it contains vital information of your background, including schools you have attended, your achievements, skills and most importantly work experience.
Most, if not all employers on the job market always require a CV from each applicant who engages in a recruitment process. CV could be a part of an application in addition to a portfolio, cover letter or, in many cases, the only thing you need to apply for a job. As a result, the very first impression you give off is through your CV, and by that you can have the glimpse of how important a good CV is for you to achieve your career goals. Below are a list of 10 advices to write a good CV:
1. Don’t just copy a general CV’s format
A CV’s format may look quite the same in different industries but you should pay close attention to things you could change to make it unique. For example, for a Hospitality or F&B job, beside the general education background at school, university, you should put the certificates you have received from training courses in a separate section.
2. Find good CV references
For you to know exactly what to include on a CV before getting started, reach out to someone that has already been in industry and ask for their advice. If you want to work in the restaurant industry, and this time you’re aiming for a manager position, make sure you have an established restaurant manager’s insights.
3. Pick only ‘words that sell’
You should limit a CV’s length to one to two pages only and make sure that it’s condensed and informative, attractive at the same time. So be selective of the words you put on your CV, pick only wise words, keep sentences short and precise.
4. Don’t overstate but let’s not undersell yourself
Even if it’s on paper, be honest and stay true to yourself. You would need to understand your values and know how to express them properly. For example, you should only list skill sets that you really have and rate their proficiency levels correctly.
5. Stand out among other CVs
There’s a high possibility that many people would apply for one same position at once, so to increase your chance of being shortlisted for the next round, your CV should stand out in the crowd. In order to do that, think back to your journey and add into the CV unique elements. You don’t have to be excellent to stand out, you just need to be original.
6. Make it look visually good
Imagine your CV is being placed among many other well prepared CVs in terms of visual, no matter how good your background is, to get an employer’s attention, you should invest your time into making your CV look visually good with clear, logical layout and equivalent graphic elements.
7. Make sure your CV is free of typo and grammar errors
Needless to say, this is a critical issue for any type of document, in any language. Having an error-free CV is the first step to success.
8. Always keep your CV up-to-dated
There is much information you need to update every time there’s a change, such as employment history, skills. You won’t know exactly when an opportunity would show up at your door, be always prepared to have your CV available to send out at any time.
9. Include contact info and photo
Your CV represents you so remember to attach a small photo of you, an avatar and detailed contact info with it for the employer to contact you conveniently in case you get shortlisted.
10. Send in PDF format, keep the file size small
No matter what you create your CV with, it’s best to save it as PDF format when you have finished editing, to keep the text fonts, layout intact when you send it to the employer.
Last but not least, you should keep the file size of the CV as small as possible so the employer can download and view it quickly.