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5 Things to Consider in Writing a Good CV

by Jobs360 | Jun 24, 2021 | Job search tips
A person writing his resume/CV

A well-written Curriculum Vitae or resume boosts your possibility of getting a new job opportunity in the Philippines. This is done by placing relevant information that can help you land a job. This information includes your educational background and achievements, as well as the skills you’ve learned that could help you with your career. In addition, it’s also advisable to edit your resume into a better and more readable format.

With so many available jobs offered in the Philippines, the first impression of a CV is very important to get hired. A resume that looks sloppy or unprofessional will not be taken seriously and can result in your application being rejected without consideration. 

Putting together a professional and polished resume will give you confidence in presenting yourself – making you an excellent candidate for the position. In this blog post, we explore 5 things you should consider when writing a good CV to ensure it has all the qualities employers are looking for!

Add your personal and updated contact information

The first part of your CV, positioned at the top of the page, should contain your name, professional title, and contact details. When it comes to your contact details, your email address and phone number(s) are essential and should always be up to date. You want the recruiters to get back to you, so you need to let them know how they can reach you. It is also advisable to add your most recent professional photo. 

Indicate the key sections of your CV or resume

Regardless of the format of your CV or resume, it’s always the key sections that shine the most. Experts have indicated that these key sections are one of the main parts of a CV that a company checks whenever they conduct an interview. It’s one of the crucial parts of your resume that could help you land a job.

So what are these critical sections that you should include in your CV or resume?

  • Experience section: This is where you list all of the details about how long and what company you have worked for including your years of service and dates covered. It’s also advisable to add a description of your job by listing achievements like “I increased sales” so as to show accomplishments during employment. Providing additional information regarding the tasks you’ve held and some knowledge you’ve acquired is also recommended. Using the bullet-point format for lists is also advisable for easier readability.
  • Education section: List down all the key information relating to your Bachelor’s degree and certifications from some relevant workshops or events that you’ve attended while studying. Also, consider adding honors, achievements, and rewards you have received from your University.
  • Skills section: This is commonly used to indicate skills that you haven’t mentioned in the first two sections. There are tons of skills you can include in writing your CV, and you have to decide which are the ones most effective and related. Write them in bullet form to make your application form more readable and the company won’t have a hard time finding these once checked and analyzed.

In some cases, the skills section is usually referred to as the most crucial part of your CV or resume as this can be used as a basis if you are qualified for your desired position. It’s better to analyze this section and include the necessary skills and tools you are proficient with to help you boost your marketability as an employee.

Pick the best CV format

Keep in mind that your CV has to compete with lots of other candidates, some jobs are on the average of 200 candidates. Imagine a recruiter has to face all of those job applications, so you have to make it easy for him or otherwise you will get discarded in the first-round review.

The recruiter may have to go through a long list of application forms and yours has to stand out among all the others. One good tip is to pick the best format for writing your CV. There are 3 main resume formats to consider:

1. Reverse-chronological – this is the most commonly used type of format. List down your relevant work experiences beginning with your most recent position and proceeding backward.
It usually looks like this:

Reverse-chronological CV
2. Functional– also known as the skills-based resume which focuses on skills and strengths rather than your work experience. This is the least popular resume format in 2021. Here’s what it looks like:
Functional Format of CV
3. Combination (or, hybrid) – as it goes by the name itself, it focuses on both skills and experiences. This how it looks like:
Combination format of CV

It’s very important to pick the right choice of format to help you get hired. According to research, among the 3 main formats, reverse-chronological is the most popular and highly suggested because it’s easy to read and skim. Recruiters and hiring managers are familiar with this kind of format, as most people use it. 

Make it short, simple, and concise

Best to keep your CV in no more than two pages. Recruiters spend only almost 30 seconds skimming a CV so make sure to highlight the skills and experiences you want to bring across with as few words as possible.

Recruiters don’t have a lot of time to spend reading just one CV, so remember not to be redundant and give them the information they can find elsewhere on your resume. Make sure what you included in your CV is concise and well-written! A good tip for this is avoiding “jargon” that may confuse readers with certain terms.

Proofread

Assuming that you’re done working on your CV or resume, it’s highly recommended to check its content before sending it. Reviewing and checking your resume should undergo several rounds to make sure that there are no spelling and grammatical errors. You can also use some proofreading tools available online.

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a CV

  1. Sending CVs or resumes with incomplete or un-updated contact details or information. To get an update on your job application make sure to put complete your contact information.
  2. Putting unnecessary details including hobbies, talents, and too much personal information such as height and weight.
  3. Crossing off dates on your CV or resume where there is no work experience listed- doing so will show gaps in employment history that might appear suspicious during an interview.
  4. Copy pasting from another person’s content without giving credit- if you do not have enough information about how to write a good CV. It’s best not to plagiarize someone else’s work!

Conclusion:

Hiring processes nowadays have become advanced and to get your foot into it, you need to go an extra mile for your CV to stand out. If you’re a fresh graduate aiming to get hired, consider these tips in writing your CV. Understanding what to include and how to write your CV is one of the keys to secure your desired position.

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