Turn your CV into the Robbie Williams of CVs, strutting and swirling its way across that employer’s desk, leaving the rest behind like a pile of junk mail.

1. Organise your life

In functional CVs, you put your skills into categories then briefly list past job titles at the bottom. These are suitable for those who have been unemployed for long periods, held different types of jobs in the past, changed jobs too frequently, are returning to work after a long period or who wish to change career.

Recent graduates and others on a consistent career path usually opt for the chronological format. These CVs list your jobs and duties for each in reverse chronological order.

2. Categorise your achievements

If you don’t want your CV to fall into the rejection pile, then follow these great tips from the experts.

Computer skills

“You’d be surprised at the amount of people using space bars instead of tabs”, says Fionnuala Gill, of Systemlink, “while applying for an office admin job which solely involves the use of computers. If you don’t know what tabs are for, then you certainly shouldn’t be saying that you have completed an ECDL course OR applying for an office job.”

Spelling, grammatical and typing errors

Spelling mistakes on a CV are unacceptable and show carelessness. “If you can’t put together a simple job application, then how are you going to perform on the job”, says Fionnuala. Common examples she has come across include:

Sending CVs via email isn’t just a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity!

When it comes to job-searching, the Internet has become one of the easiest ways to contact employers, companies, post CVs or even set online interviews with your future boss. Follow these key tips on looking for a job online.

COVER LETTERS

Applicants rarely give thought to covering letters anymore. “Please find my CV attached” isn’t a convincing enough reason for the employer to consider you. The cover letter is your first sales pitch to a potential employer and a good one introduces you and explains why you’re one of the best candidates for the job.

YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

Set up an email address just for job searching. Have a “normal” e-mail name, NOT blondie@aol.com or hotstud@yahoo.com. You may very well be these things, but keep these email addresses for your personal use.

The best resume format to use is the combination resume. This resume format is not chronological nor functional. It combines both! It is extremely flexible and allows you to use strategies in a way that would normally be considered wrong.

The difference between the combination format and the chronological format is that the chronological format resume is very easy to follow. The hiring manager will typically start to read the chronological resume at the bottom of the work history or professional experience section (heading depends on your career level) and will continue reading his or her way up towards the top to trace your career history. If there are employment gaps, it will be obvious because it is difficult to hide breaks in employment using this resume format. This is why most hiring managers prefer the chronological resume format. It is easy to read and leaves little to the imagination. This can be a great advantage (marketing tool) if you have been in the same type of position because it shows continuity and progression in your industry.

How many times have you heard someone say, “Just put it on your resume. There’s no way they’re going
to find out”?

It is tempting to put little white lies on your resume. These might include overstating your knowledge of required software (”If they call me, I’ll teach myself over the weekend”), a certification (”They’ll never go through all that trouble to find out”) or extending dates at a former employer (”They can’t find out. The company went out of business”).

So what’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re claiming to be a medical doctor, right? Who are you hurting anyway? You’re just stretching the truth a little to get your foot in the door — or so you tell yourself. If these are familiar thoughts, you might want to re-think them. Why? Because the risk of getting caught is real. The odds of getting away with listing false information on your resume are probably, well . . . who really knows? Do you really want to find out the hard way?

Congratulations, you’ve just graduated with a degree in your chosen field.

So what’s your next step going to be to launch your long-anticipated career?

Like a young racehorse at the starting gate, you have tons of energy and determination, and are anxious to get out there and seize new career opportunities. But are you ready? Do you know what you need to do? Do you have a plan of action to turn those opportunities into a reality? If you don’t, you will need to get one.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage that the quickest route from point A to point B is a straight line. Well, launching your career is no different in terms of setting your job search goals and carrying them out diligently and methodically You might have a few corners to navigate, but you should do your best to avoid deviating from your goal as much as possible.

The following is a list of some of The Interview Company .com’s suggestions for a better CV. It is in a simple Do/Don’t format.

DO: Try to keep your CV straightforward and easy to read with well demarcated sections.

DON’T: Put your photograph on your CV. You want the employer to consider you on the basis of your skill set not what you look like.

DO: Thoroughly check spelling and grammar. This goes beyond a spell check using word processing software (many words are not picked up by these such as the common misspelling of coordinate as “co-ordinate”). Wherever possible ask friends or colleagues to read through your CV so obvious errors are not missed. Spelling or grammatical mistakes might suggest poor attention to detail which can be an issue for employers.

1, Keep It Short

Considering that initially HR personnel only spend approximately 10-20 seconds on a resume, the shorter your resume, the most desirable it is. Aim for one page.

Of course, it is sometimes impossible to create such a short resume. You might have to include a second page because you have way too much information regarding your work experience, accomplishments, etc. In this case, make sure that you list the most relevant information within the upper half of the first page because that is the section that gets looked at first. This way, these important insights will surely be noticed.

2, Spelling, Spelling, Spelling

It is not enough to run the word processor’s spell checker on your document. Proofread your resume at least 3 times, once backward (sometimes that is how you notice mistakes.)

For some reason, writing a description of ourselves and our life achievements is a difficult task. It is easy enough to recount our life to others, yet when it involves describing it with the aim of securing a job; suddenly the words to describe our talents escape us. Thus, the process of resume writing begins.

To make a resume which describes personal achievements in a manner that will get noticed, the power of words must be used, as the use of keywords can make or break a resume. Keywords consist of the lexicon that relates to the field you are applying to work in. Including such vocabulary indicates some savvy of the field, and will immediately attract employers’ eyes to a resume.