Tips on CV Writing: Hits and Misses
July 17, 2023
The preparation of a resume (CV) is, without a doubt, a task of great responsibility since the success of a job application depends on it. Experts from Harvard University recommend treating the preparation of this document as if it were a search engine optimization for web pages. They say there are a few words and phrases that a candidate should include in his or her resume to get the job he or she is applying for.
When a website creator thinks about the positioning of his domain, he or she uses relevant terms or phrases that will help Google to highlight its existence and thus get more visits.
To help prospective or current job seekers, employment experts offer these three resume (CV) tips:
– Use words that recruiters have used for the job description. For example, when faced with a job offer for a communications department in which the phrase “writing press releases” has been included, the candidate should include this specific experience (if possessed) using the same language so that the recruiter understands that this is the profile they are looking for.
– It is also vital that the resume reflects the candidate’s accomplishments. To highlight these experiences and increase the impact, it is advisable to start each part of the summary with a verb in the past tense that specifies as much as possible the task carried out. Continuing with the previous example, the description of this experience could begin with the verb “I wrote”, “I published” or “I prepared”. By starting each experience in this way, the recruiter can get a mental picture of the candidate’s entire career path even if he or she does not finish reading the rest of the sentence.
– Whenever possible, experts recommend accompanying the data with figures and percentages. The intention of including this data is to demonstrate to the recruiter the added value that the candidate has brought to his or her previous jobs. Continuing with the previous example, the sentence could be the following: I managed to increase visits to the “news” section of the company’s website by 30%.
On the other hand, once listed the actions that a candidate can take to achieve the success of his resume (CV), it is essential to specify which mistakes should NOT be made:
– Include information not related to the job offer to which the resume is addressed. It is necessary to adapt the document to each job position so that it fits as much as possible to the profile requested by the company.
– To make a very long resume. Do not exceed two pages. The length of the document should be only one page.
– Include a lot of personal information. It is preferable not to add data such as marital status, number of children, or social networks.
– Never lie. If the company detects this, the candidate will be automatically discarded.
– Making spelling or grammatical mistakes makes a bad impression and the application will probably be discarded.
