Partner Article

7 Life Lessons Your CV Forgot About

They say for every corporate job posting, there are around 250 applicants – over half of whom are perfectly qualified for the job. This means writing a distinctive, eye-catching CV is of paramount importance in today’s job market. Everjobs, the new online career portal focusing on emerging markets, reveals seven foolproof ways to get your resume noticed in today’s tough business climate.

1. Don’t beat around the bush

Although not mandatory, adding a career objective at the beginning of your resume will show recruiters that you are motivated, forward-thinking and know the direction in which you want your career to go. It should be clear and concise: just one sentence that describes what you are looking for will suffice. Be realistic but aim high. Explain your goal while trying to use the keywords you feel are most relevant to you and the position you’re applying for. For example, “Bilingual, self-driven Economics graduate seeks Online Marketing position in the Asia Pacific region”.

2. Show your soft side

Try to mix soft skills (also known as interpersonal skills) and hard skills (technical know-how) in order to show you’re a balanced, well-rounded person. Language skills are very important, especially for international companies, so always list your language skills in order of proficiency. Include the level at which you’re able to understand or converse – from elementary to business proficient and native or bilingual fluency. Of course you can use other categories if you prefer, such as: “mother tongue / fluent / intermediate / beginner”.

3. Size matters

Strategic font selection is too often overlooked when writing a CV. Your resume should look visually appealing and fill and fit the page comfortably, so generally as a rule, reduce or enlarge the size of your font accordingly within the size 10-12 range. Times New Roman, Arial and Cambria are generally the most popular fonts used for CVs, while Verdana, Garamond and Lucinda Sans are considered classier choices.

4. Personality wins the heart

Employers will often look beyond academia to find candidates who they feel will fit the corporate culture and company’s values, so show your sense of loyalty and commitment through the sport you play and the hobbies you enjoy. List your most employable personal interests and hobbies, as well as any leadership roles you may have taken on. For example, including ‘Captain of Shrewsbury Town Womens Football Club for 3 consecutive seasons’ will show employers that you can bring dedication, leadership skills, and teamwork to their company.

5. Embrace the 21st century

Depending on the type of job you’re applying for, it may be advisable to include links to personal websites or social media channels to ensure quick and easy access to your work portfolio. Always check that your links work and be aware that some systems convert your document to simple text, rendering your hyperlink obsolete.

6. Quality over quantity

Keep things simple by sticking to bullet points. Save the elaborate, sophisticated sentences for your cover letter as you’ve only got a limited amount of space. Your CV should never be more than one A4 sheet of paper (two at most) and should always include the most important keywords.

7. Honesty is the best policy

Now it’s time to consult your friends, family and colleagues about what you do best. Ask them about your qualities at work and in your life, and any weaknesses or areas of improvement. Jot down all the feedback, summarizing them in your own words and keeping weaknesses in mind for potentially tricky interview questions. Having a fresh pair of eyes look at your resume is also beneficial as they might spot any grammatical errors you may not have noticed before.

About Everjobs:

Everjobs (everjobs.com) is a job portal currently operating in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Launched in March 2015 and led by co-founders Theo Poursanidis and Ronald Schuurs, Everjobs aims to become the leading job portal in fast growing economies finding the right match for both, employers and candidates. The company is backed by Rocket Internet, as well as the Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG) and the Africa Internet Group (AIG)

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Everjobs .