Preparing resume online

A CV is the first thing that tells your potential employers about you. In fact, it introduces you to them. Usually, short-listing of candidates is done solely on the basis of their CV. You may have a good personality, excellent knowledge of the subject or even previous experiences, but without an attractive and informative CV, you will not be able to convey this to the employer. A CV is your front to the job market, so put in some effort to make it worthy of your qualifications.

Preparing resume is your gateway to the company, so make it as good as you possibly can.

Use right keywords

Make sure that you use the right keywords in your CV. Companies usually make use of software programs to sort through the hordes of resume at their disposal. Know the skills that the company is searching for, and add them in the CV for a speedy highlighting.

Give effective titles

Use attractive titles while preparing resume. Most of the employers sift through a CV in a matter of seconds. In these circumstances, you have to make sure that the titles are meaningful and are descriptive about the qualifications being listed under.

Have a direction to it

You don't have to make a separate section listing your future goals. Structure the CV, so that it has a flow to it and can give an idea to the employer about what your future plans and objectives are. If you do list your objectives, try to make it as less generic as possible.

List achievements, not responsibilities

Don't simply list the responsibilities that had been handed to you. Back these up with the achievements and results that your work generated. This is far more useful in telling about your work experience. Also, list the benefits that your skills have, pertaining to the company you're applying to.

Avoid fibbing

You may think you can get away with a hypothetical work experience or a fake degree listed. But most companies now-a-days run a background check. Even if they don't, the HR division is trained to sort through your information and find out if you really did the things that you're claiming to have done.

Small and updated

Keep the CV size to one or two pages at the maximum. No one is going to read a whole book on you. A small Curriculum Vitae, written effectively, carries far more weight than a list of features that add to the pages. Update your CV regularly, to include newly acquired skills or information that may help.

No design or jargon

Don't bother beautifying your CV with backgrounds or designs. Employers may even get irritated at it. It is best to stick to what they are asking and present an informative CV. Also, adding in technical jargon may not help your case. The person in the HR will most probably just ignore terms that are irrelevant to them.

Email formatting

Make a text version of your Curriculum Vitae that can be read even without downloading the attachment. Some employers prefer email formatted documents and your attachment can be labelled as spam, by the email provider.

About the author:

Grace specializes in CV writing with CV insight Ltd, a UK-based online group of employees screening experts.