TIPS ON CV WRITING..Part 2

CV WRITING TIP NO 11: Be more specific on your CV. A concise and to the point CV is vital so do not generalise so much that it disqualifies you from being shortlisted through appearing not to have enough experience. If people report to you, mention how many. If working on SAP, mention whether you are basic, intermediate or advanced… If a diesel mechanic, mention specifically the machines worked on. This will make you more targeted in your application, saving you and the client time.

CV WRITING TIP NO 12: Do NOT summarise and cluster all duties and responsibilities from all jobs into one main section. Rather let these be job specific in putting the relevant points under the relevant job. In this way, people can see when, and for how long you had exposure in the particular task. It may seem impressive writing one fat summary, but in doing it this way, you will frustrate those going through your CV in not being able to define your experience more specifically to a particular job.

CV WRITING TIP NO 13: Do NOT copy and paste identical duties and responsibilities under 2 different positions. This will make your CV boring, and predictable not to mention that it won’t promote you in enabling the client think you are an exceptional candidate to be considered. Your CV will lose impact and people will potentially loose interest in your application, with your CV having a sense of monotony to it. Doing this may jeopardize your competitiveness.

CV WRITING TIP NO 14: Do NOT have any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors on your CV, especially not the wrong email address/tel no that causes you to be un-contactable. Your CV sells who you are, and so you do not want people to get the message that you lack attention to detail, lack excellence and are probably just an ‘average Jo’ candidate through unforgivable errors.

CV WRITING TIP NO 15: There’s no need to get too personal on your CV. No one cares if you hate unfairness, still have respect for the elderly, still want to climb Mt Everest etc… Be professional and stick to having a business focus, with emphasis on your commercial experience and career goals. An employer can always ask about personal interests and hobbies in an interview.