What a good CV/Resume looks like!

What a good CV/Resume looks like!

January 13 2021

 

 

What a good CV/Resume looks like!

 

How would you advise somebody to construct their cv or resume?

It should be clear and concise:

  1. At the top you should have all of your details: name, phone number (correct), email address (full address hyperlinked), LinkedIn (hyperlinked to correct page)
  2. Next should be Summary – no more than three lines explaining who you are, what you are looking for and what you can bring to the role and company
  3. Education – your primary degree, masters, you relevant professional qualifications and not irrelevant course i.e. the health and safety course you may have done which is not relevant to the job you are applying to – this and other less relevant qualifications can go down at the bottom of the cv
  4. Experience – this should be done in reverse chronological order i.e. your most recent experience first working backwards. Your most recent experience takes priority and majority of the real estate of your cv as it is the most relevant. After you start going back more than 5 years’, it becomes less and less relevant. The experience should include the following:
    1. Where you worked
    2. Dates
    3. Position
    4. If the company is not well knows, put a brief one line about the company
    5. 1-3 line summary of your role
    6. 5-7 bullet points of your key responsibilities
  5. Achievements and projects you have done

On the career coaching side with Possible.ie, we always recommend doing a Master CV that has all your experience, and achievements. You can then pluck the relevant ones for a specific role you are applying to

  1. Technical experience, experience with different programs or packages (technical skills need to appear at the top for an IT/Tech cv)
  2. One line: “References available on request” (only put this in, if you have room)

Your cv should be 2 pages maximum – it gets harder to read beyond this!

 

What makes a good CV versus a bad CV?

You should follow the 4 C’s – clean, clear, consistent and concise

Clear – clarity around your language. Make sure it is clear and easy to read. Don’t over complicate your language.

Concise – keep it short. Say as much as you can in as short of a sentence as possible.

Consistent – same text, size, bullet points, punctuation, spelling.

Clean – does the cv look clean overall. Is it aesthetically nice?

 

Should someone adapt their CV to a specific role and why?

100% yes! Hiring Managers receive a huge number of applications for every role so are looking for reasons to reject cvs. If you have done something they are looking for and don’t mention it, there is every chance you will be rejected.

Again this is something we do with our clients of Possible.ie on the career coaching side. Having your overall master cv and adapting it to the specific role is key.

 

What about the LinkedIn Profile?

It isn’t your full cv but should show highlights from it. 80% of the candidates we placed last year were sourced proactively by us on LinkedIn, so it shows how important your profile is if you want to be found.

Look at things like SEO (search engineer optimisation) – ensuring keywords in your summary, title, experience, skills are present. This is what will get you found on LinkedIn.

Look for recommendations for your profile as it looks good!

 

If you need further help with your career and interested to learn more about career coaching, visit Possible Coaching today to arrange a introductory call!

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