CV WRITING - PROFESSIONAL

CV TIPS

How to grab your employer’s attention in 30 seconds

Unlike a decade ago where one would have got a job within their first two months of graduation, it may possibly take months or years now for some graduates. For a secretarial position advertised, one would get average around 400 CVs within 2 days!

You can imagine with that amount of applications, no employer has time to go through each CV in detail so if you want to stand a chance of being shortlisted for interview, you literally have to make an impact, and fast. The average employer takes around 30 seconds to scan a CV and make a judgment on what you are and what they are looking for. This is about that all-important first impression and there are three components to this, namely the look, lingo and length of your CV.

Get the look right

• Jobseekers always ask which is more important on a CV, the way it looks or what it says – the answer is both. If your favorite chef served up your favorite dish on a dirty, chipped plate with food dripping down the sides, would you still eat it? For most people, the answer would be a resounding "no". In much the same way, a poorly presented CV can ruin your chances of being shortlisted for interview – even if you are the best candidate for the job. You can avoid this by applying these very simple tips for a clean, clear

presentation

• Choose the right fonts – stay away from outdated serif fonts like Times New Roman and instead go for modern, sans serif fonts such as Verdana or Tahoma for a fresher feel.
• Get the size right – if your text is too small it makes your CV crowded and hard to read. If it is too big on the other hand, it makes it look like you don't have much to say for yourself. The perfect font size is generally a 10 or 11 for the body text, 14 for sub-headings, and a big massive 22 point for the main page header (which should be your full name to really make that impact and grab the employer's attention).
• Use visual aids – bullet points, line breaks, bold formatting, columns, tabs. These are all simple tools you can employ on your CV to make more impact in the way it looks.
• Be consistent – whatever fonts and style settings you decide to use on your CV, be sure to keep it the same throughout. There are few things more off-putting on a CV than seeing a real mess of fonts and paragraph tabs all over the place.
• Avoid ready-made template CVs from questionable online sites – chances are if you've come across this template, so have other jobseekers. Adding a personal touch to the design and layout of your CV can make yours stand out from the crowd.