So, you are writing a CV?
.. and you want it to look good, be easily readable and well-received?
As someone who has read many CV’s, I know what I would like to see and what I really don’t like, and I believe this is commonly shared with many recruiters and hiring managers.
For example, the EuroPass CV format is frowned upon by almost anyone recruiting, so please stay away from these, as it is long, often unsrtuctured CV’s where you have to read multiple pages to get an idea of the skills of the person, their experience and history. Also, unless you are a graphics designer, don’t go overboard with being creative – keep it clean and easily readable, but be free to stick a personal design touch to the header or the side of the page, but keep the reading area clean.
The readability is really important, giving the recipient an easy way to assess the important information quickly, and it is also very important that the information is grouped and organized well.
This, as the recruiters has limited time to look at your CV, and you have one chance to make it through that first screening. The very job of your CV, is to get you past that first hurdle – landing you that interview.
The CV, is your personal representative in this first stage, and it has to be just as neat, clean and well-dressed as you would have to be when going for the interview.
Also, please do remember to keep your CV updated at regular intervals!
This gets us to the base rules of a good CV:
Page 1 – About half a page, which is the cover letter, containing a short summary of your strengths, highlights, character and visions.
Please note that this cover letter is not always required, and if not, exclude it from the CV. Just keep it ready and up to date for if/when it’s needed. It also serves as an example of your ability to express yoruself in free text.
Page 2 – A single page containing your contact details and personal info, skills and a summary work history and other summary details.
Page 3 and forward, is the extended work history, starting with most recent. Here, you get to explain the highlights, work and responsibilities in more detail for each job. Let the title be the work period (y-m to y-m), position and company.
- Always spellcheck the CV.
- Keep your social media work timelines correct and in line with the CV – They will likely be crosschecked.
What about using AI like ChatGPT, Gemini and others in CV’s?
A few words of caution is in place here.
If you DO use AI, please rewrite what was suggested in your own words, as overly hyped and polished resume language instead of naturally flowing language can be seen as a red flag.
Employers’ perspectives on using ChatGPT to assist with your resume may vary; some may appreciate that you’re embracing new technology, while others might wonder if you lack the basic skills needed to do the job, and you relying on the AI to be able to do it?
Do companies check your resume for AI?
Yes, many companies do check resumes for AI-generated content. They use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to scan for specific keywords and flag generic language while hiring managers look for inconsistencies and overly polished phrases. It’s essential to review and customize your AI-assisted resume to ensure it accurately reflects your experience and skills.
Avoid the “buzzword bingo!”
While it is perfectly expected and even wanted that you name relevant skills, technologies and similar things by their proper names, please do avoid making it a “buzzword bingo” by overly including cliche’s such as: “team player” , “organizational skills”, “detail oriented”, “hard-working”, “passion for”, “results-focused”, “fast-paced movement/environment”, “quick learner” and so on.
Keep the language as factual as you can, keep it short, but do express what you did, and what you have achieved.
Buzzword cramming a CV is a good way to get it rejected, as the cv stops making sense and it all just becomes a pile of words/phrases stacked upon each other.
Having said this, the occasional use, where it is warranted and proper, is absolutely fine, especially if you can show a sample of that quick learning of a new skill that solved the issue.
Download the free [ CV-Template ] (docx format)
Feel free to use / modify as you wish!
Good luck in your job hunt!