1. Keep it real!
Usually a CV should be no more than two pages – and that’s two pages of A4 paper! So do your best to keep it concise as well. Employers spend, an average, just 8 seconds looking at any one CV, and a surefire way of landing yourself on the no pile is to send them your entire life story. Keep it interesting, to the point, and save those little details for the interview.
2. Break text up
We are a cynical bunch and leaving obvious gaps on your CV immediately makes employers suspicious – and they won’t give you the benefit of the doubt. If you’ve been out of work it can be a worry but just put a positive spin on it. Did you do a course, volunteer work or develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork or project management?
3. Keep it up do present date as possible
Your most recent role is the area of your CV that will be scrutinised the most by recruiters and employers, so it’s imperative that you provide enough detail to explain it fully.
The CV below gives an example of roughly how much space your current role should take .
4. Be honest
Don’t be tempted to falsify qualifications or make up jobs that you haven’t done.
A white lie may get you through to interview stage, but the interviewer could quite easily catch you out if you don’t appear to know what you are talking about.
Also, most companies will run reference checks after making a job offer, so it’s not worth risking your reputation.
So yes, use a bit of creativity and sell yourself, but don’t overdo it.
5. Make it look good and simple
Keep the colours conventional
You want your CV to stand out, but make sure it stands out for the right reasons.
Using neon colours in an attempt to grab attention is a big mistake will cast doubts over your judgement.
Avoid using skills graphs
Skills graphs like the one below are designed to give recruiters an idea of your levels of proficiency in certain areas.
The problem with them, is that they offer no real tangible scale to readers.
Keep your page transitions nice and tidy.
Identify what format works best
If everyone has the same format for their CV, it probably makes the employer’s role as a recruiter very dull…but low and behold, here is one CV that really stands out from the rest! Why? Because you formatted it differently.
Get your CV typed up by professionals
We at Mini Print have typed up thousands of people’s CVs. Come in today to get your CV typed up and printed today!