How to create an outstanding CV ?

While more and more applicants are creating video CVs to find a job, a traditional CV remains the norm and it is the first document that recruiters will look at. Here are some tips to create your perfect CV, stand out from the other applicants and catch the eye of recruiters.

What is a curriculum vitae?

‘Curriculum vitae’ is a Latin word that literally means the ‘course of (one's) life’, which is abbreviated to ‘CV’. It is a document that details your previous occupations, education, and qualifications, as well as your main skills and abilities. It allows you to say who you are, what you have done and what you want to do.

Generally speaking, it is organised in reverse chronological order, listing establishments attended, qualifications earned, internships completed and positions occupied from the most recent to the oldest. We advise adopting thistype of CV, because functional or thematic layouts, which make chronological order less obvious, can sometimes confuse recruiters. As we will see later, there are many other ways to make your CV original.

Bear in mind that, ideally, an effective CV should form a perfect link between the job offer and your application. You should therefore to each offer, instead of using the same one for every application; a rule that everybody knows, but many do not apply.

What makes up an effective CV?

Given that the time spent reading a CV is generally no more than nine seconds, it is advisable to get straight to the point and include a limited amount of information. Here are some tips on how to organise the content and sections of your professional CV.

An eye-catching header

This is the first visible element of a modern CV. This “pitch” should include your first and last names and a title that tells the recruiter what the purpose of your application is. You can indicate the position you currently hold or the title of your most recent qualification.

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Clear and visible personal details

Your personal information should be super easy to find if someone wants to contact you. State your mobile number, email address and the URL of your LinkedIn profile. For the email, it really is not a good idea to use addresses like dragonslayer666@hotmail.com or cutiepanda77@gmail.com.

List of work experience

Provide details for each position you have held (all work experience, including summer jobs, internships, work-study courses, etc.), including the role performed, the organisation’s name, the business sector and the main tasks carried out. Each line must be useful, so get rid of anything that does not seem relevant.

Details of education and training

In this section, you should state the main courses you have taken and qualifications earned. It’s probably not worth mentioning that you got really good marks in the second term of your final year, but you may want to highlight the fact that you got a distinction for one of your A levels, or that you came first in your year group at university.

Skills and abilities to highlight

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Your academic successes and qualifications may not be enough to convince the recruiter that you’re the right person for the job. You must include both your hard and soft skills. Try to use action verbs to draw attention to your strengths in this section: ‘manage’, ‘control’, ‘ensure’, ‘optimise’, ‘plan’, ‘promote’, etc. You can also mention quantitative and qualitative results achieved.

Hobbies and interests

While you are perfectly free to create your CV without mentioning your hobbies, this section can help the recruiter strike up an informal conversation and find out more about your life outside work or involvement in charities, for example. Only mention topics that you are able to talk about with confidence.

Some applicants embellish their CV, but bear in mind that you will fool nobody if you are asked to do tests. Lastly, don’t forget toreread your CV: spelling mistakes will make a bad, or even terrible first impression with the recruiter.

Take care with the layout to create an effective CV

Let’s leave the content aside now and focus on the appearance of your document. How do you make a simple CV that is pleasant to read and paints a clear picture of your profile. Here are a few rules to follow:

Leave space on the page

First rule: your CV should fit on a single page. You therefore need to take care that you don’t overload your document, to avoid making it unclear and tiring the reader. Leave space in your CV, create sections and separate them clearly, use enough line spacing, etc.

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Use restraint

You absolutely can have a stylish CV while being sparing with the use of certain elements. Use bold and italics carefully and favour fonts that are professional and neutral (such as Calibri, Arial and Helvetica Neue). COMIC Sans MS is a definite no-no!

Use the right colours

You are, of course, entitled to your personal favourite colours, but don’t forget that your attractive CV must please the recruiter first and foremost. If you want to create a visual CV, avoid overdoing it: stick to two or three colours at most, and please no rainbows! These must match your personality and the outlines of the position you are aiming for. For example, shades of blue reflect calmness and commitment, green stability and hope, yellow social confidence, etc.

Choose a professional photo

Go for a photo with good definition, a bright background and uniform lighting. Also, don’t forget to smile and adopt a “professional pose”. Here are a few ill-advised ideas: use an ID photo, a selfie, a photo taken at a wedding or on holiday, a glitter effect Instagram filter, or your Tinder profile photo.

If you respect these rules, you can give free rein to your imagination and show your creativity by going for an original page layout. Don’t hesitate to download a CV template from the Internet and personalise it to stand out from the rest. Lastly, if you are using software (such as Microsoft Word or OpenOffice), or a DTP tool (such as InDesign or Scribus), remember to convert your document into PDF format.

Now you know how to create a CV that attracts the recruiter’s attention, you can get to work on it, write your covering letter and prepare for your future job interview. If you’re a student at IPAG, don’t forget that the school’s Career Centre regularly holds CV writing workshops and can offer personalised advice to help you land an internship, a work-study placement, or your first job. In any event, we wish you all the best!