Summary:
Are you a job seeker? Do you want to know how to write a CV correctly a CV that gets you more job interviews when you upload it online?
The best advice for a successful job search is to write a professional CV that uses simple formatting.
But when you hand your CV directly to a hiring manager or potential employer, you need to write a more appealing CV.
Try including graphics, tables, colours, and other tools.
Then optimise your CV to make the best first impression.
So, you should have two versions of your CV:
- A visually appealing one, to hand to recruiters, hiring managers, employers, etc.
- A standard one for the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) when you respond to a job advert online. It should be in MS Word format.
CVs that get interviews have the WOW factor.
It shows the significant value a candidate will bring to the organisation.
For example, your curriculum vitae demonstrates significant, high-level achievement or a successful project you executed well.
Maybe you…
- generated extra revenue for your previous company
- saved the organisation money through greater efficiency
- implemented a new process to increase productivity
CVJURY can help you write an outstanding CV.
Use our free online CV builder to create your stand-out CV and make your job search much easier this year.
With over 40 CV and resume designs to choose from, you can find the perfect CV style.
Follow these recommendations about which type of CV to submit and for which situation.
Are you ready to discover the secret to writing a CV that lands you more job interviews?
The WOW Factor (Your Unique Value Proposition)
Creating a CV that wows the recruiter or hiring manager means you won’t need to wait a year to get an interview.
Is your current CV compelling enough to make recruiters or hiring managers act?
A CV you write correctly will provoke an instant action in your favour
Unfortunately, 90% of job applicants fail to impress recruiters or employers with their submitted CVs or resumes.
Your CV or resume is critical in your search for that dream job!
More importantly, recruiters, hiring managers and employers always expect to see your CV or resume – there’s no escaping it.
With a CV that you write excellently, the chances of the recruiter inviting you for a job interview are much higher!
At CVJURY, our CV templates, free CV builder, and free resume builder can help you write a professional CV that lands you more job interviews.
Also, use our free resume scanner to check how you match a job description before you apply.
I want to build a professional CV now.
What Do I Include in My CV?
But, when writing your CV, you need to know what to include.
Adding the wrong things or too much information can prevent you from getting an interview.
Recruiters check for the following:
- Are you a local, or are you willing to relocate?
- Does your CV have the WOW factor?
- Do you have the relevant experience they needed?
- Are there gaps in your employment history? If so, did you explain them or not?
- How does the CV look? (CV layout, formatting, visual appeal, etc.)
Here are the essential elements of an excellent CV.
Apply them, and you’ll increase your chances of landing job interviews.
Write an outstanding professional CV with CVJURY.
When you move from one role to a similar one, you have a greater chance of the recruiter selecting you.
But if you are applying for a completely unrelated position, your options are not that good.
Focus on the same or similar roles if possible. Aim to move only for higher perks.
Tip
Your CV should be no more than two pages.
The exception is if you’re a top executive with many years of work experience.
And you are applying for a leading position.
Use a top-to-bottom CV layout instead of a left-to-right format for your CV.
Get creative with how you use white space to highlight your strengths.
The top segment of the CV is the visual centre.
It must contain your WOW factor, not just a personal statement about goals.
Which Font Is Best?
Recruiters recommend the following fonts:
- Georgia
- Merriweather
- Constantia
- Gill Sans
- Avenir
- Helvetica
Arial and Geneva are also good choices for CV fonts.
Examples of a CV that WOWs!
- A significant, high-level achievement
- Managing a successful project with excellent results
- Implementing a plan that generated money for your company
- Saving the company money
- Improving a process for greater efficiency or to saving time
Tip
Recruiters read a CV for only 10 to 17 seconds.
That’s all you get to make a lasting impression.
So, let them see that WOW factor first!
Here are some examples of how to include your own WOW factor when you craft your CV.
Use the opening or profile statement to highlight your WOW factor:
- The opening profile statement aims to address the role’s priorities. Highlight related experience to what the employer is looking for.
Does the job title require experience working with postgraduate students?
Then, highlight your previous work with postgraduate students.
- Keep it short, punchy, and relevant, and include keywords specific to the job/sector. It should be no more than nine lines.
- Highlight your professional qualifications with examples. Does the job relate to STEM students? Then, emphasise your experience with STEM students.
Example
Here is how one candidate captured and applied the concept described above:
CDI-qualified careers professional with experience supporting different candidates, such as postgraduates and international students, achieving positive graduate destinations. Over 4 years of experience in postgraduate student recruitment, employer liaison work, career counseling, and guidance. Proven skills in building relationships with employers and delivering innovative employability solutions, as shown in the successful set-up and founding of the permanent role of postgraduate employer liaison officer at the University of South Africa. Currently seeking a fixed-term guidance role.
The examples below can help you create your WOW factor. Unique value proposition (UVP) is your WOW factor. Think of your answers to these:
- Why are you suitable for the job? E.g., Bring 4 years’ experience as a marketing manager in the advertising and PR sector. During this time, secured contracts that achieved xx% of the sales target for the last 4 years.
- Past successes: E.g., Secured 13 contracts in the UK, Europe, and North Africa, which generated about £xx million in the past 3 years
- Adaptability & commitment: E.g., Built and maintained strong business relationships with former employers. After the company relocated to Italy, was permitted to continue working with its clients.
With this last statement, for example, an employer can see the value you can add to their bottom line if they employ you.
Present your UVP at the beginning of your CV (as a profile summary or as a caption after your name and job title) so that hiring managers see it quickly.
The WOW factor answers, “What can you offer the organisation?”
Tip
Highlight your WOW factor in the profile/key skills section.
It must include your most valuable attributes.
Use this approach to pass the early CV scan stage.
CV Format And CV Layout
The visual centre of a CV begins two inches from the top of the page and stops two inches below that.
Profile Section
Recruiters and employers always have piles of applications to get through.
They often scan applications to separate the time wasters from potential hires.
You’ll be among the lucky few if your CV gets more than a few seconds of attention!
When recruiters scan a CV, they concentrate on the top 30% of the first page.
Begin your CV with a punchy personal profile.
Your WOW factor could be your ability to make financial gains or savings.
Or things you accomplished, such as time-saving initiatives you implemented for companies in the past.
Tip
Use CVJURY’s resume template tools to create a resume that will attract attention.
Impress a potential employer with your skills and experience.
Customising Your CV
A crucial factor in mastering how to write a CV correctly is that you must tailor your CV to every role you apply for.
Why? So that your CV targets the specific organisation.
List the essential critical skills, work experience, and attributes in the job description.
Then try to work each one of those keywords into your CV naturally.
Doing so portrays you as a unique and qualified candidate for the position.
Personal Details Section
Here are some other critical features to understand about correctly writing a CV.
You should include all essential and relevant details.
─ Phone number(s)
─ Home address – city and state are usually enough.
(Tip: add Willing to Relocate if the job is in another area to show the employer you don’t mind relocating)
─ Email – use a professional email, not something like loverboy@uoe.net. Try to use firstname.lastname@gmail.com or something similar.
─ LinkedIn – your LinkedIn address looks like this: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aritekpo-it-managment/
Meanwhile, find our best LinkedIn summary templates and write compelling summaries to attract more recruiters.
Our free LinkedIn profile builder is on hand for your new-look profile creation.
Land the job you will be of that you’ve always wanted!
Professional Summary
Use bullet points to showcase three or four outstanding career achievements.
Create CV employers want to read because they see that your past accomplishments qualify you for the job.
Here are some examples:
Instead of writing:
- “Expanded operations to global markets,”
Write:
- “Expanded operations to 12 new European countries, boosting foreign revenue by 35%.”
Instead of writing:
- “Led the engineering team.”
Write:
- “Supervised the engineering team and accomplished 18% yearly growth vs. 0.7% budget.”
Showing Career Achievements On Your CV
- Achieved something, met a goal, or won an award
- Brought in partners, funding, or resources
- Changed or improved something
- Designed, planned, or organised something big
- Eliminated issues or reduced problems
- Envisioned and brought a project to life
- Increased efficiency, sales, revenue, or customer satisfaction
- Managed a team with positive results
- Oversaw, regulated, or enforced management protocols
- Saved the company time or money
- Spearheaded a successful project or initiative
- Supported customers
- Updated, changed, or restructured something
- Produced valuable research
- Led a project or oversaw a project or initiative from start to finish
To create an outstanding CV, you must incorporate career achievements instead of merely stating key responsibilities or duties. But how?
What specific areas can you highlight? That’s where power words come in!
Power Words Or Action Verbs
Use any of these 300+ power verbs to drive home your bullet points with more precision:
Work Experience
Make every bullet point highlight your current or previous work experience.
And make sure to include the following three elements:
- Transferable skills
- Technical knowledge
- Quantifiable or measurable results
Read over 140 transferable skills worth including in your CV
How to Write A CV Correctly
Make sure to include these points:
1. Explain any date gaps—a one-line sentence is okay.
Examples
- “Took seven months off to complete a CFA III professional exam.”
- “Maternity leave of 18 months to have a baby.”
2. Show month and year for jobs/work experience.
Example
Jan 20XX – Jun 20XX
3. Show your highest education degree first and leave out secondary and primary education.
4. Leave lots of white space – this valuable space relaxes the reader’s eyes.
5. Save the format and submit your CV as a PDF unless you’re uploading to a specific job portal in response to a vacancy that recruiters advertised.
PDF format ensures that the document style stays the same no matter how many applications you submit.
When uploading your CV to an Applicant Tracking System, save your CV document in Microsoft Word format.
This allows the machine to read your CV without any issues.
Tip
Don’t forget to tailor your CV/resume for each job application.
You don’t need to include all the work experience you’ve ever had.
Just experience relevant to the specific position in question.
Suppose you are applying to companies based in the same industry, then keep your CV the same.
But when applying for jobs in different industries, customise your CV to target each job.
Need help writing your CV? Why not use our free online resume builder to write your best resume yet?
Closing Thoughts
You must have a version of your CV that is ATS compliant.
Recruiters use Applicant Tracking System software to weed out a poor CV that doesn’t meet the job criteria.
Kirsty Bonner lists the following things that ATS software hates:
- Dates older than 12 years if you are 38 years or older
- Font size smaller than 11 point
- Graphics
- Horizontal lines
- Hyperlinks (including links to email and LinkedIn)
- Icons
- Italics
- Mixed fonts
- Multiple colours
- Profile pictures
- Symbols
- Tables
- Text boxes
- Underlines
- Vertical lines (except tiny dividers)
- ® (Prince2, Agile etc.)
- “Design”
Standard bullet points (black dots) are acceptable. Generally, ATS software likes a boringly simple CV.
Remember to pack your CV with relevant keywords from the job description for each job you apply for via online portals.
Also, you need only prepare your CV to be ATS compliant when you upload it to a job board or a company’s website, etc.
Lastly, you don’t need to bother with ATS restrictions when you send your CV to a real person, usually by email.
