CV writing tips

I’ve just done editing the CV of my friend who's currently looking for a new job. In my work, I deal with lots of CVs almost everyday. I am not a recruiter but I was a resume specialist – one of my many roles in my previous company. I dealt mostly with international development professionals looking for jobs in the World Bank, ADB, UN, and development firms. A fair number have good CVs but a handful really have poor CVs.

In my current job, I also do CV editing for the consultants who are part of the numerous infrastructure projects my company bids for - funded by the ADB, World Bank, and private firms.

So here are a few do’s and don’ts in writing a CV that stands out.

Basically, a CV has three elements: content, presentation, and writing style.

Content

1) Make a profile or a summary. 

Recruiters don’t have the luxury of time to read all the pages of your CV. So you have to catch their attention in the first few lines of your CV.

Make it a point to create a summary which briefly discuss your qualifications, skills, and expertise. In this way, you can give the recruiter an overview of yourself without having to read all your CV. The concept is to write a powerful profile that would keep the recruiter reading your CV until the last page.

Example:

More than ten years experience in leadership positions in the education sector with specific expertise in counseling and child development services, discipline and violence risk assessment, state assessment programs, special populations, and management of vocational and training programs

To create a good profile, quantify your experience in your particular field. Say for example, you have more than ten years experience or you are a well-seasoned expert. Highlight your accomplishments by enumerating them briefly. And don’t forget to use the keywords used in your sector. If you’re working in education, utilize widely-used terms as in the above example.

2) Use power words.

Do not merely list your roles by enumerating what was written in your job description. Say it with impact! Describe the results of your duties.

Example:

Responsible for creating a filing system in financial reports.

can be written as

Developed a filing system that significantly reduced errors in financial reports...

Be more creative and make use of other power words like establish, create, design, pioneer, compose, initiate, etc.

3) Quantify the results of your work by using percentages, numbers, or amounts.

If you have the data on hand, take advantage and use it to demonstrate your achievements on the job.

Example:

Coordinated and managed the Annual Needs and Livelihoods Assessment worth at least US$ 500,000 for Malawi.

Sounds impressive, right?

Presentation

There are lots of do’s and don’ts when it comes to presentation but here are some to guide you.

1)    Keep it short. A two- or three- page CV is enough unless you have more than 10 years of experience in your field or you are a veteran. I remember trimming down a 10-page CV to 4 pages. Yes it is possible by removing the repetitive information and using simple and short sentences. 

2)  Use a simple black font size 11 to 14 (for headings). Garamond, Arial, Times New Roman are some.

3)    Use page numbers and write your name close to the page number so that in case your CV pages are shuffled the reader still knows which is which. 

4)    Keep your margins and borders straight and uniform.

5)    Avoid splitting the description of a job in two pages.

The key is to make your CV look good and neat.


Writing style

1)    Use past tense consistently to denote accomplishments. I’ve read from professional CV writers that they use present tense for the current job roles. Well, it’s actually neither right nor wrong. Whatever you prefer, make sure you write the verb tenses consistently.

2)    Use a variety of action words rather than using the overrated ‘responsible for’

Example:
Led and facilitated the coordination of regular meetings and inter-agency briefs with sector partners on performance outlook, budget allocations, planning field missions, and donor briefings.

3)    Do not use implied first-person voice such as “I, myself,”. Always use the third-person voice.

Example:
Established my firm representing clients with net worth between $250,000 to $5,000,000.  I specialize in long term relationships with retired clients, providing expertise in tax free bonds, annuities and estate planning.

How does that sound? It’d be better without the first-person pronouns.

4)    Make sure that your resume reflects the job description and make some adjustments without

making anything up.

5)    And lastly, it pays to proofread your CV!

I also suggest that you make a cover letter that goes with your CV. It doesn’t need to be lengthy but just direct and simple saying that you’re interested with the job opening and what you can offer to the company.

CV writing can be a daunting task especially if you don’t know where to start or how to further improve a resume which you think is already good. Start by honestly assessing your CV if it’s well-presented, easy to read, and would catch your attention if you were the recruiter. Or better yet, have someone read it to see if it’s comprehensive. Remember that a well-written CV is your first step to get that dream job.

If you have any CV-related question/s, drop me an email. I’d be glad to help!