Senin, 03 Juni 2013

Good Resume Creation Requires Clarity Over Everything Else

By Michelle Howe


All of us at some stage will have to go through the process of resume creation, when we create a 'curriculum vitae', or CV, of our accomplishments and qualifications. Job hunting is a challenging enough experience without you being handicapped by having a sub-quality CV, so it is important that you get it right. A resume is not simply a list though, it needs to be properly formatted, proofread for spelling and punctuation mistakes, and be in a legible font.

It is always wise to remember that a CV is not a job application form, its aim is basically to get you noticed so that you are offered an interview. This is why it needs to be written with succinct clarity, and not with the information presented in great rambling paragraphs. An employer does not have the time to read through an amateurish attempt at a life story, so organise your CV clearly, and show an ability to filter information to suit its audience in the process.

Using bullet points is therefore a very good idea indeed. Very few employers will have the time or the urge to sift through pages and pages of detail. So use bullet points for each of your sections, breaking down your skills and experience into more easily digestible chunks. This will help your positive qualities to stand out more and be more easily grasped by an employer.

Handing over a document which is pages and pages long is also unlikely to impress any potential employers. A good CV should aim at being two pages long, as anything longer can lead to pages becoming detached and important sections being lost. Put personal details like your date of birth and address on the front page of the document, so that it is easy to see who it relates to.

Proofreading is vital, as it is for any professional document, but especially a CV. Spelling and punctuation give a much more complete picture of your ability level than you might realise, especially if a potential employer is a stickler for grammar. If you do not know the difference between it's and its, or where to put the apostrophe after a plural, then it is time that you found out, as poor grammar and punctuation can make you look very unintelligent indeed.

Also format the CV so that it is straightforward to read. Use bold headings where necessary to help delineate the different sections, and make sure that you use a font which is legible. Fancy fonts may look nice, but nice is not a CV's job; it needs to be clearly legible.

It is also a very bad idea to include pictures in the document. While you may think that it makes things look nicer, or offers some intriguing insight into what you look like when doing certain things, the potential employer is unlikely to agree. Instead, they are more likely to think that you have the mind of a child, as well as being somewhat self-obsessed.

The secret of good resume creation is to write with clarity, dividing the text up into clearly legible sections. Never use pictures or fancy fonts, as these will not help with gaining the chance of an interview. Proofread carefully, and brush up on your grammar and punctuation before you write a CV.




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