Tips for CV Writing Important pointers in CV Building

1. Begin with Name and Contact Details in your CV

Make this information available at the beginning of your CV. This should include, your physical address, phone no.(Preferably mobile no.) and the e-mail address (only one). If a company wants to call you for an interview or need to communicate with you for any further information, they will look out for this information. If it is buried somewhere inside the CV it will not only put them off but also reduce their chances of contacting you.

2. Write an appealing Career Summary in your CV This is your chance to bring forward your relevant strengths and skills in front of the recruiter. Everything in your CV should actually support your Career Summary. If theres anything which doesnt support your Career Summary, probably it is worth reconsideration. You should write your Career Summary around your Skills, Attitude, Knowledge and Experience. There are 2 schools of thoughts on writing the career statement. Some people think that it should be a short 30-40 words paragraph while some give it a liberty to be covered in 4-5 bulleted points. Well, whatever you decide on, ensure that everything relevant that you want to sell to the prospective employer should be covered here. At the same time, it should not become too long.

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Focus on Work Experience, responsibilities and achievements in your CV

If you are an experienced candidate, your work experience is your main weapon. Include the details of the relevant jobs you have done in the past. You should present your work experience in a chronologically descending order i.e. the last company first. This should include the name of the company, your designation and tenure followed by your Job responsibilities and achievements.

It is always better to present this information in bulleted format rather than a clumsy paragraph. Mention some figures when you talk about your achievements.

For example: Worked as Business Development Manager for XYZ Company from June 2000 to Jan 2004 Job Responsibilities:

Setting up 7 franchisee across 4 countries Maximizing the business from existing customers to the tune of $ 200,000 Educational Qualification in CV

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Educational qualifications play an important role in the recruitment of Freshers. If you are a fresh candidate, focus your CV on your qualifications and achievements during your student life. 5. Write about work achievements, interests and hobbies in your CV

These reflect your personality and skills. So present the relevant achievements in the order of priority i.e. the most important achievement first. Similarly you can present your interests as well. Write about the achievements, which display a facet of your personality. For example-If you have been the president of your College, do mention it. It shows your leadership skills. 6. Write short sentences with more impactful words in your CV

Lengthy CV puts the recruiter off. Keep the sentences short and use words which demonstrate your hold of situation like managed, arranged, supervised etc. Formal font faces- A font like Verdana-10 should be good for the content while the Name at the top can be written in Verdana-12, with a bold font face.
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Use the same tense throughout the CV. Changing the tense in every second line leaves the reader confused and annoyed.

Dos of CV writing

Make your contact details i.e. the phone no. and e-mail address available at the very beginning of your CV. Use a formal e-mail address (preferably a combination of your first and last name with a dot in between or initial of name and surname or vice versa) rather than using an e-mail address like funnymonkey@xyz.com, sweet16@abc.com etc. Write an appealing career summary/executive summary at the beginning. You have got 30 seconds to impress the recruiter. Your career summary should attract them to read the CV. If you have got work experience, keep a focus of your CV on your experience, responsibilities and achievements. If you have just passed out from college, write about your education qualifications, projects and other qualities in you which put you apart from other people in your batch. Use impactful words which demonstrate that you are in control of things. Rank the achievements in order of priority. Write about your interests out of work. They demonstrate your personal qualities. CV is a formal document. Use white or light coloured A4 size paper and formal fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial. Avoid fancy fonts. Put un-important things on the second page, towards right side. Include some numbers to quantify your achievements. They make your CV more powerful. Write short and crisp sentences using punctuation marks properly. Maintain the same tense through out your CV Provide enough breathing space in your CV. This makes it legible.

Donts of CV writing Resume or CV on top. The reader knows that its a CV. You dont need to mention it. Lies about your candidature in CV are highly unadvisable. They may get you the entry but are not difficult to find out. When found they will lead you to embarrassment. If you manage to get yourself hired based on these lies, they may cost you the job when found. Flashy fonts and colourful or glossy paper. CV is a formal document, keep it simple. Photographs until asked or compulsorily required for the position. Usage of I, my. They make you sound egomaniac. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. They convey your lazy and not serious attitude. Your age, number of kids, age of kids, fathers name, mothers name, passport number. Abbreviations or jargons which HR people might not understand. Mentioning health problems. References until asked
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Current or expected salary until asked Mention of reasons for leaving the last jobs Right alignment of the CV content