Your CV is your business card. It is the first impression you will make on the recipient of your CV before they actually meet you. That is why the quality of the CV is so important.
Prior to putting your CV together, answer those three questions:
- Who will read my CV and what information will be essential and relevant to them?
- What do I want to communicate? Usually these are 3 things that make you unique.
- What are the key words: in the job ad or for the company?
After answering for the above questions, you can go on to creating your CV. The structure of it should look like that:
- Contact details: ideally placed in the header to save space.
- Profile summary: the quintessence of the professional profile. It tells the recipient if it’s worth to continue scrolling down. If you must include a picture, please add a photo that is up to date and professional. Pretty please.
- Career path: starting from the most recent position. A description of main responsibilities with an element of selected achievements that are best expressed in concrete numbers and figures.
- Education: does not include kindergarten to high school. Might sometimes include relevant and significant trainings.
- Others: any other information that might be relevant to the reader (!) not to you. That’s the place to include your hobbies. They give an additional personal touch to the whole. Remember to only enlist those that you actively practice and can have a meaningful conversation about.
At the end, remember to proofread the CV, because any mistakes in the application documents reflect badly on you.
