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Thursday, 6 June 2013

Some Handy Tips For Anyone Wanting To Get Better At Resume Creation

By Michelle Howe


At some stage in our working lives, all of us are going to be looking for a new job. Resume creation is one of the most important parts of finding a new position, but many people make basic errors when it comes to writing their 'curriculum vitae' or CV. A badly written list of achievements is simply not good enough for most employers these days.

Firstly, always remember that though gaining a job is the ultimate aim of creating a CV, its primary purpose is to secure you an interview. This is why it is best to keep the CV succinct and to the point. Do not make long lists of everything you have done at work, as this is not only boring but also indicates a mind which cannot filter what is important. The list of experience should be short and to the point, with examples of what you have done much more important than listing qualities which you think you possess.

This is why the use of bullet points is so common on successful CVs. Bullet points allow you to break information down into more easily digestible chunks, and to make the really important facts stand out. This also allows the really meaningful and noteworthy parts of the CV to properly stand out and be noticed by the potential employer.

Keep the whole document as short as possible too. While all of your personal details and contact information, as well as your education, should be at the front of the CV, the rest needs to be kept as precise and succinct as possible. If you can keep the whole document to only two pages, that makes it much easier for employers to read and to hold onto, as large documents can become easily detached and sections lost.

Proofreading is vital, as it is for any professional document, but especially a CV. Spelling and punctuation give a much more complete picture of your ability level than you might realise, especially if a potential employer is a stickler for grammar. If you do not know the difference between it's and its, or where to put the apostrophe after a plural, then it is time that you found out, as poor grammar and punctuation can make you look very unintelligent indeed.

The overall formatting of the CV needs to be properly handled too. Fancy fonts will get you nowhere, as they can be difficult to read and make the document look frivolous and lacking in maturity. Use bold and italics where necessary too, in order to help important details stand out.

Including pictures in a CV is also not a very good idea, and will certainly not improve the overall quality of the document. Pictures of yourself can make you seem childish and self-obsessed, and are usually completely irrelevant anyway. A picture takes up space too, space which is at a premium in a document such as this.

A good CV is clear, succinctly written and well-formatted. It uses a clear font, bullet points and has no pictures included. Always proofread it very carefully before sending it away, and your resume creation process has a much better chance of being successful.




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