Hundreds of resumes are routinely sent to the trash by recruiters because they are poorly developed, too cluttered or for other reasons. Still, the main goal of submitting a resume is to make sure that you get noticed and selected by the recruiter. For this purpose, it is important to maximize the impact of that document. In other words, you need to grab the attention of your future employer as quickly as possible.
You surely need to sell yourself, but that does mean you can mention everything in your curriculum vitae. You will develop your career path and your motivation in your cover letter. In order to catch the recruiter’s eye, make a modern and unique CV. If you have worked for a while and are searching for a new job, you may need to redesign your resume. Here is how to succeed this task.
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Start with a Blank Sheet of Paper
When rebuilding their resume, job seekers tend to just correct and update their old CV. Trust us, you will waste more time doing so than starting completely from the scratch. Remember that you aim to create a modern document. So, the content is not the only element concerned. And starting with a blank sheet of paper is the only technique that counts to reach such a goal. Before wondering how to make a resume on cv-creator.co.uk
If you directly start from an old resume, you are likely to keep old experiences that you might have a hard time breaking away from. However, recreating your CV is to mourn your old experiences and look ahead. On the other hand, if you start with a resume template, you will, consciously or not, try to cast into the mold and put things aside while they might be useful. At this point, you cannot know which CV template is the best for you yet.
Find a Catchy Title of your Resume
In front of your blank sheet of paper, just start with the beginning. The first question to ask yourself is: “What position am I targeting?”. This allows you to find the right title of your curriculum vitae. If you are replying to an ad, use the indicated title. If it is a spontaneous application, do not try to cast too broad a net or you might get lost. Just choose a specific job title that you can enhance with your biggest asset. This is important because by reading the title, the recruiter should already have a very clear idea of your professional goal and the position you are targeting.
As you have probably guessed, the CV title allows your application to stand out from that of other candidates. It also helps you perfect your resume. Remember that current recruiters have very short time to screen all the resumes they receive. Since the title is one of the first thing they will notice, it has to be catchy and totally relevant to job sought. In a nutshell, giving your resume the perfect title allows the recruiter to figure out at a glance that you are the right fit.
Sort your Professional Experiences
The experience section is often the second part of the resume that headhunters look at. So, ask yourself which of your former positions held and achievements match the best to this position. This information will constitute your experience section. Be careful though because you do not have to put everything in there. Just write down some old experiences related to the position sought as a reminder that they brought you where you are today. But do not waste time and space on writing an endless epilogue on it. Keep in mind that your resume must be short (one page or two) and concise.
Instead of making a long list or your experiences, prefer highlighting your evolution. For each experience, you can give figures that proves your efficiency and your success. For example: the turnover generated, the number of people supervised, etc. Currently, recruiters are fond of soft skills and some of them even favor it over experience. Thus, showcase your soft skills in your resume. Now that you know which information you want to put in your CV, you can go on the internet to pick the most suitable CV template.
Write your Resume
At this stage, you have the title and all the elements to be included in your curriculum vitae in order to highlight your profile. You also have chosen the perfect template. Now, you can begin the writing task. Start with your name, your first name and your contact details. Then insert the title and the headings. You must add the following sections:
- Education and Training
- Experience and Work History
- Skills and Expertise
- References (if asked)
Then, you can then enrich the document as you wish by adding other sections like interests and hobbies. But always remember that each information must be related to the job sought and your resume should stand on one page. Two pages are only acceptable if you have a large number of relevant experiences and skills.
Work on the Resume Layout
When it comes to the layout, the chosen CV template offers a good basis but you still have to personalize with the right font and colors. Note that sobriety is key even if the ultimate objective is to stand out from the crowd at a glance. So, avoid visual overload and fancy unreadable fonts. We recommend to choose a soft and minimalist design. In addition, an overloaded resume can be suspect in the eyes of recruiters. When they see a lot of colors, graphics, visuals, a long list of skills, for example, they might have the impression that you are trying to embellish your profile too much. The rule is to make a simple but attractive CV. Also make your resume airy and readable. Focus on your strengths, on what could help you get a job interview.
