How to Write a CV

I am sure that this article would attract a lot of people since most of us, if not all, struggle with writing a good curriculum vitae (CV) or as called a resume. I am sure it is considered a huge burden and a complete nightmare to write a good resume and we always have this doubt that it is always not good enough. After reading so many articles and attending workshops about resumes, I now have the concrete steps on how to write a proper one and I have written my resume over and over again, I decided to share what I learned with the rest of the world. So, I hope this comes handy to everyone and you can share it with your friends.

But first, let me explain the purpose of a CV. It is used to get an interview; presenting yourself and selling yourself so the company can reach out to you. Human Resources (HR) has a definite image of who is the best candidate in terms of Qualities, skills, experience, etc. So your CV must be a clear and concise representation of you personally and professionally. So, in order to get the job, one must create a CV that matches your needs and the person you are because creating an “over the top” resume is not going to do you any good.

Also, you must make all your parts clear where you point out the skills that can match the needs of your potential company/companies. Make sure the emphasize the value you can bring to the organization because they need you as much you need them. In addition, don’t forget the ATS system which is the Automatic Tracking System in which the computer filters CVs especially in firms and organizations that have a big number of candidates and appliers so this system only filters the keywords for the intended job so if your cv does not have the keyword(s) then even if it is an excellent resume, the system wouldn’t care much.

Before writing a CV, you must ask yourself the following questions: 

1-       What job am I looking for?

2-       What are my key skills?

3-       What work experience have I had?

4-       What is the link between the job I am targeting and my work experience?

5-       What is so special about you that will get you selected? What is so special about you that would make an HR call/email you to get to know you more?  

Once you answer these questions, you will have a clearer vision of how you want your CV to look like in the end and it will provide you with the credibility you hope to achieve. After that, it will be more of a process of filling the gap. Therefore, any personal resume consists of six main parts in which conclude different aspects personally and professionally. You must have personal details, personal statement, education, work experience, and key skills and achievements, and finally, hobbies and interests. I will provide you with a description for each one of these essential components of the recipe of tailoring a personal resume.

Part 1: Personal Details

This must consist of basic information about you. Short but concise and usually the things you would tell to a stranger when you first introduce yourself to them. this part consists of the following:

1- Your contact details: Name, address, number, email address (professional names), Skype handle.

2- Personal info (optional): DOB - date of birth/visa status (be sensitive to the country you are applying for). 

3- Professional social media presence: LinkedIn (important), twitter, blog, etc.

A CV must match the Linkedin profile and you should have at least 200 contacts and ideally 2000.

Part 2: Personal Statement

1- Sale pitches that will make the reader want to read and find out more about you.

2- It should be between 50 to 100 words.

3- You should say who you are, what are you aiming for and what you can offer.

4- Skills/experience/qualities the recruiter is looking for. Make a list of the previously stated words and any notable achievement.

You can always benefit from other people’s resumes online since now we have access almost to all the information we need and we can use the experience of others to do so. Who you are? What are your skills and experience? What are your strengths, what are you looking for? Why? If you answer these questions, I assure you will have a decent statement which is concise and straightforward.

Part 3: Education

This part should the easiest one! All you need to do is add the university, college or school you went to. then, the dates the qualifications were awarded and any grades. Any work related courses, if they are relevant to the targeting job. A point to pay attention to is that if you are a master’s student; make sure to delete the high school section because you are targeting professional level and high school is more generic at the point.

Part 4: Work Experience (the heart of your CV)

1- Your employer.

2- The dates you worked for them.

3- The job title and main duties.

4- The skills you used and what was achieved.

Underneath the main points add what stands out, for example, during the job, I have achieved or I successfully participated in a conference or what you are proud of at the end of it or did you get to travel, etc) and always think of keywords.

-  Use bullet points to desciribe responsiblites/achievements.

- Start sentences with action verbs (ex: completed or achieved) never start with the first person.

- Concentrate on your achievements, not responsibilities.

- Ensure you are using relevant keywords.

- Make your most relevant experience and skills prominently to encourage the employer to read on.

Make sure that you do not have gaps in your resume. For example, you have 2016 and 2014 so what happened in 2015? Make sure to have a consistent storyline.  For example, if you write that you have an internship but it wasn’t long though you wrote 2014: internship in teaching but in the interview, you can say it was for a month but try to describe it very well and highlight the best things in this month or two. 

Part 5: Key Skills & Achievements

Now we come to the most under-graded part that is mostly taken for granted and not given much attention. In this part, you can add the extra things you are good at, for example, your language skills, computer skills, academic achievements for an instance, and what have you. To make it clear, if you just started learning a language and you are still a beginner, it is totally okay to add it to your list of languages even because it will show how diverse and open-minded you are to learn and develop your horizons and capabilities. Never underestimate any skill you have because it can do you good, if not now, in future opportunities it surely will. 

Part 6: Hobbies & Interests 

I am sure some might think that this part is crazy and it wouldn't add much but trust me, it will help you. So many people think that this section is personal and it is not a work-related type of information. You can add extra curriculum activities, voluntary work, entrepreneurial activities, and travel destinations especially if your trip was interesting (not the vacation type of traveling). This section creates an action to this resume, it also shows how committed and dedicated you are and that you are an active person in your society. It also represents your values because hobbies and interests can say so much about a person. This section is helpful especially to those who don't have an advanced experience professionally and it can fill the gap. 

Last but not least, add your references section and usually, you can add the most used sentence at the end of your CV and that is "references available upon request" but you can also add information about two people who could be your references (add the name, job title, contact details). It is better to have a one-page resume and it is the most required in jobs. Remember that any HR will not spend too much time on your resume, no longer than a minute or two. 

Make sure you have all the key words needed. Also, keep it up to date. Make sure what you have in it aligns with what you publish online. Aim to be extraordinary. Check if there are any typo or spelling mistakes. You can also use www.mycvfactory.com to find templates for CVs. Moreover, you can use https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/ to assemble your CV if you still don't know how to do it and it has all the sections ready so you can fill them and then you can download it easily. If you enjoyed this article and you found it helpful, add a comment below in the comment section and share what you found most valuable and helpful.