CV Writing Tips

We all know that you need a greatly formatted, eye-catching CV to grab the hiring manager’s attention to land the job of your dreams.

Here are a few tips to have a professional looking CV:

1. Start strong, the top 1/3 of the file is the most important, make sure it is easy to read, neat and with relevant information.
2. Your name should be the biggest text in your CV & bold.
3. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed:
4. Use a professional email address, ex:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
5. Don’t mention any of the following personal details: Full address, Marital status, Gender, Sexual orientation, or Religious beliefs.
6. Include URLs of your professional social media profiles like LinkedIn, personal websites, blog, or your portfolio (for creative professionals consider adding links to Instagram, YouTube, or Pinterest profiles).
7. Choose a professional font; Ex: Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Georgia.
8. Use the right font size: between 14-16 for sections titles, 10-12 for all other text.
9. Make sure you have margins on all sides, and add 1.0-1.15 line spacing between text.
10. Make your subheadings bold.
11. Use bullet lists instead of paragraphs to describe your experiences, educational background and skills, Keep your bullet points to six at most. 
12. Don't worry if your resume is one page long.
13. Make sure the first letter of all names mentioned, are capital.
14. Proofread your CV several times to check for any mistakes, Or Ask a professional to review it. (Submit your CV to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for reviewing).
15. Name your file properly: use Your first and last name, and add the document type: CV.
16. Save your CV as PDF file format.
17. Use CV Builder to save time, effort and to ensure best results;

here are some links to free professional cv templates.

https://zety.com/resume-templates

https://www.resumebuilder.com/resume-templates/ 

Wondering how to build a strong resume that stands out?

Here are a few essential details to include to keep it more professional:

1. Start your CV with a resume summary or a resume objective.
2. Mention your Experience and Educational background:
   

   if you’re a fresh graduate then your educational section is your strongest asset. In that case;

   • Consider putting your education section first.
   • List and describe your relevant coursework to show recruiters that you have skills related to the job. 
   • Add a list of relevant side projects and non-traditional work like: volunteering, part time jobs, summer camps, training, awards, residences or conferences you’ve attended.
   • Incorporate all the continuing education and online learning courses you had.

    

3. Place your most recent entries at the top in a chronological descending order.

4. If you’re a professional with tons of experience:
   
   
• Place your experience before your education, using effective and descriptive titles.
• Don’t list all your work experiences; jobs you are not proud of, or not relevant to the current position. 
  
  
5. Focus more on your achievements, not the assigned tasks and responsibilities.
   
   

    And always use numbers to describe what you’ve achieved.

              Ex: (you increased the annual revenues, Vs. you increased them by $100,000, or by 78%.)

6. Make sure to use the right keywords and action verbs specially at the beginning of each bullet point to get noticed more easily, Ex: team player, leadership, communication, creative, problem solving, responsible for, achieved, worked on, improved, researched, coached, planned, managed, assist.
7. List all the right skills: scan the job description for a list of relevant and required skills and add the ones you have.
8. A golden advice is to tailor your CV according to the job you are applying for, and remember you will be asked in every aspect of your resume.
9. Remove any possible resume red flags.

10) Clean Up Your Online Presence; don’t forget that hiring managers search for you online:

• Adjust your LinkedIn profile to match your CV
• Clean any “public” information on your Facebook and other social media pages.
• Change your Facebook privacy settings to “Friends” to prevent anyone from digging into past posts.
• Do a google search on yourself and remove any sensitive content from the web.

 11) At last it is always a great idea to attach your CV with a cover letter, especially for young professionals, to show your passion for the job in detail, include your professional goals and some more in-depth