Making your CV

Agenda

CV Making Dos & Don’ts Examining Sample CVs Q & As

CV: Is it necessary?

Why CV is needed Your CV is your marketing brochure through which you try to sell

a commodity, i.e. your skills to the potential buyer i.e. the prospective employer. The sole purpose of your CV is to fetch you an interview call. It’s a window to your job

Who needs CV Practically everyone, unless we are endowed with a unique skills

which are already known to the potential employer

CV is a key to open your door to your potential employer and it makes sense to invest time & efforts in using it effectively

Understanding Recruiter

About Recruiter What he wants

Relevant profile Good fit

Gets lot of CV Can’t spend much time

30 Sec Scans instead of reads

What you can do Customise your CV as per

the opening Make it easier to read and

scan Highlight key areas Spacing & Layout

Impressive first half page Freshers

Highlight projects, school college responsibilities which will make you stand out

Correct grammar & spell

Layout of CV

Personal Info: Name, Address, Email, Phone Objective: Only if it is really from heart. Don’t put generic Executive Summary: Fresher focus on qualification, graders,

responsibilities, achievements Very important section- Make it brief and powerful Use numbers, highlight key points Key skills that stands you apart- Key memberships, international stint etc

Work experience (if any) Education: Mention it before if seeking job on this basis Achievements & Extra Curricular activities Hobbies: Ones linking with the role Personal info: DOB, Nationality, Languages known

Dos of CV WritingContent Words & Phrases: Use action words: Led, Managed, Achieved, Planned, Delivered,

Strategised, Advocated Use phrases to demonstrate your skills: Results driven, Reliable & dependable, High

integrity, Methodical approach, Self driven Write about your achievements from academic/ personal life. Do add numbers

wherever possible to make it absolute Mention about your interests out of work in the CV Put un-important things on the second or back page Include some numbers which can impress HR people and they allow you to meet the

responsible person for an interview Blow your own trumpet Do add personalised Cover note wherever possible

Visual & grammatical Use formal font faces Write short sentences Keep the same tense through out your CV Draft & Redraft to get best results

Don’ts of CV

Lies about your candidature Resume or CV on top Flashy fonts Colorful or glossy paper Photographs until asked or compulsorily required for the position Usage of ‘I’, ‘my’ References until asked Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors Your age, number of kids, age of kids Mentioning health problems in the CV Abbreviations or jargons as HR people may not understand them. Doesn’t

apply to IT candidates Current or expected salary until asked Reasons for leaving the last jobs Right alignment of the CV content

Sample CVs

Thanks