It’s not all about being clean cut and impeccable. Here are some top tips to make your CV stand out from the crowd.
Your CV says a lot about you. It is the first thing that corporations will know about you, when you apply for positions with them. You must polish that document until it sparkles with a fine shine. Not only does it need to be impeccably presented, but it also has to be of excellent quality, have no inexplicable gaps in it, and even reflect some of your finest passion projects. All of this and if it is longer than two pages, you may find the company doesn’t even bother to read it all the way through.
So, you have approximately three paragraphs to make yourself stand out from the competition. Let’s talk about CVs and how you can sparkle and shine like a diamond in the rough.
4 Tips for Creating the Best CV Around
If you are in the market for a place to upload your magnificent new CV when it is finished, you can do that then browse for Hays IT Jobs over on their website. In the meantime, here are 4 innovative ways you can add some pop to your CV.
1 – Start with a Statement
The top lines of your CV always include your contact information, but before you launch into your working history, launch with an opening statement. One paragraph long, perhaps including 4 lines. This is your attention grabber, your hook, your invitation for them to read more. Think back on your life and remember the most interesting, story-tellable events/hobbies/interests/positions you have held. Use these as little hooks to hint that, should they read the whole way through, your CV will be worth the wait.
2 – Be Funny
If you have the ability, insert a few funny moments throughout your CV. You can add humour and still be professional. Avoid puns because you don’t want to be remembered for the wrong reasons. However, if you sometimes go hillwalking and have a two line story about being stuck up a hill, that will be recalled for the right reasons. Especially if you applied problem solving or relevant skills to the job to get out of the situation.
3 – Additional Skills
Yes, you should start strong with your skill summary and mention all your key working accomplishments but think about your additional skills and tag them on at the very end. Perhaps you can juggle? Maybe you spent a summer as a dairy farmer in Quebec? All these little interesting points help to build a rounded picture of your personality. They make you seem wise, worldly, and like someone who would make a good colleague.
4 – Be Friendly
Which brings us to our last point. Being a professional is one thing, but being an attractive personality is another. You could be the best in the business at what you do, but nobody wants to work with a goody-two-shoes. Try changing your CV a little, tweaking it to be more friendly, funny, and interesting and see if it doesn’t earn you rewards.
