Writing a good CV is another skill that needs to be learnt. The job market is full of too many smart and intelligent people making it harder or almost impossible for average people to find jobs in all sectors. There are basic things to look out for when writing a good CV such as spellings, punctuations, and grammar. Do not be like a candidate who totally omitted commas on his CV and wrote his interest as ‘loves cooking dogs and interesting people’. Without much ado, after a long research and questioning, here are the top tips to use when writing a CV that will definitely land you interviews.
1. Gather Experience
Nothing will ever take the place of experience when it comes to job search. Many companies require that applicants have enough experience before they could be considered for a job, but how then do you get experience when you cannot find a job. The ugly truth is that many companies in Africa do not have the time to train new comers. They are always looking for people who can hit the ground running in fact they often prefer multi-skilled people (people who can do more than one job). It is even far worse in a recession market as the struggle for companies to survive increases in a recession time like this, the only people they are most likely see now are people who can hit the ground running and save the company from going bankrupt. You should look for a friend, family member, friend of a friend, etc., who is currently running a business so you can join and work with them as a freelance. If you are a graduate, you better not lose opportunities to gain experience by turning down job opportunities simply because they do not pay well. Smart graduates Jump at the slightest opportunity of gaining experience but not money. Search for many online resources and even use simulations to
gain real life experience prior to getting a job.
2. Never Start Your Employment Experience
with Intern
A sure way to get your CV trashed by a
Recruiter is to have your first job experience
staring at him as an NYSC teacher. Do not be
deceived, when a company advertises for a
graduate trainee position, it does not mean they
will automatically consider all graduate CV’s
rolling in. You need to speak the language of
the industry on your CV. I will advise you put
your NYSC experience at the bottom of your job
experience and find other related things you
have done to be at the top even if they are not
paid jobs.
3. Use Keywords
Many job seekers still do not know that they
should write their CV’s like SEO Managers when
submitting their CV to a company online. Many
companies use an enterprise software called
ATS(Applicant Tracking System) to receive pool
of CV’s from job seekers. This ATS would have
been fed with keywords, if these keywords are
not found on the CV you sent, the ATS will not
shortlist your CV to be passed on to the hiring
Manager except you are lucky to have the
Recruiter review your CV manually. For
instance, if a company advertises for a ‘Trainee
Reservoir Engineer’ position, the keywords you
will put on your CV will likely be Reservoir
Engineering, Trainee, Reservoir software,
Evaluation, Reservoir modeling, etc. Of course
you will have to make sure the keywords fit in a
sentence on your CV. Always use the language
of the industry you target.
4. Sell Your Skills
Writing a CV is like writing a business plan.
When writing a business plan, you talk about
how your business can be profitable showing
all the details to catch the interest of the
potential investors. In CV writing, you are the
product. Do not make the mistake of selling
your features (I am a beautiful and intelligent
graduate looking…). No one truly cares if you
are beautiful for a technical position, and I have
not seen a CV where someone wrote that he
was dumb. Everyone always says they are
smart at first. Sell your benefits (skills you have
acquired). If you are applying for a ‘Trainee
Geologist’ position, indicate some of the
software you have learnt on your own such as
petrel, Mbal, etc. The Hiring Manager knows
you are not a specialist yet but demonstrating
your awareness within your industry makes
your CV stands out form other graduates who
just sent a no experience and no skill CV.
5. Keep your Age Confidential
This might work against you sometimes when
you put your age on your CV. For instance
some companies have age limit before they can
shortlist candidates for interviews. Countries
like Algeria more than often will not offer you a
job or Visa if you are close to 70. Your aim for
sending a CV is to land you in an interview, so
avoid everything that might decrease your
chances of getting an interview invite. In the
real sense of it, your age should not determine
your competence on the job; we all deserve a
chance to prove our competence.
6. Write a Professional Profile
It is old fashioned to have ‘objective’ on your
CV. Instead, write a compelling profile such as
‘An excellent Business Development Officer with
over 2years of experience in the Marine sector
covering DP2 Vessel…’ This is the place to
flaunt the software and other skills you know
of.
7. Never include Your Photo (except You are
applying for a Modeling or Showbiz positions)
Using a photo on your CV does not increase
your chances of being shortlisted for an
interview except if required for the position you
are applying for. People might develop wrong
or good opinion about you based on how you
look. Your aim is to let your CV land you an
interview so avoid anything that might prevent
it from happening.
8. Send Your CV in Word format(Only send PDF
when requested)
Many ATS software used by companies cannot
read PDF files. Most CV’s uploaded in PDF will
be rendered in error therefore jeopardizing your
chances of getting shortlisted. By default,
always endaevour to send your CV in Word
format unless otherwise stated.
9. Avoid Designing or Using Excessive Tables
On Your CV
Tables often make it impossible for some
devices or software to read certain part of your
CV. This might decrease your chances of
getting shortlisted as important information
satisfying the requirements of the job you are
applying for might have been shielded by the
tables. Many devices are not table friendly so
job seekers are advised to avoid using
excessive tables or designing their CV’s. This
does no good to applicants at all.
10. Do not Write Your Grade Except You Made
Upper Class
Except your grade is First Class, Second Class
Upper, Distinction, and Upper Credit, you should
never put any other grade lower than this on
your CV. If you made Second Class Lower,
simply write ‘Obafemi Awolowo University, BSc.
In Petroleum Engineering’. Do not put grade
except it is upper class.
If you stick with these tips and incorporates it
into your CV writing skills, I believe you should
be closer to getting your interviews lined up
soon. I shall be writing a piece on what to do
when you have gotten an interview invite. Many
candidates have ruined golden opportunities
during interviews due to ill preparation.
Feel free to ask questions through this thread
on how best you can write your CV or if you
simply want to have your CV re-written
professionally, I suggest you send a mail to
Lachenzy@gmail.com
1. Gather Experience
Nothing will ever take the place of experience when it comes to job search. Many companies require that applicants have enough experience before they could be considered for a job, but how then do you get experience when you cannot find a job. The ugly truth is that many companies in Africa do not have the time to train new comers. They are always looking for people who can hit the ground running in fact they often prefer multi-skilled people (people who can do more than one job). It is even far worse in a recession market as the struggle for companies to survive increases in a recession time like this, the only people they are most likely see now are people who can hit the ground running and save the company from going bankrupt. You should look for a friend, family member, friend of a friend, etc., who is currently running a business so you can join and work with them as a freelance. If you are a graduate, you better not lose opportunities to gain experience by turning down job opportunities simply because they do not pay well. Smart graduates Jump at the slightest opportunity of gaining experience but not money. Search for many online resources and even use simulations to
gain real life experience prior to getting a job.
2. Never Start Your Employment Experience
with Intern
A sure way to get your CV trashed by a
Recruiter is to have your first job experience
staring at him as an NYSC teacher. Do not be
deceived, when a company advertises for a
graduate trainee position, it does not mean they
will automatically consider all graduate CV’s
rolling in. You need to speak the language of
the industry on your CV. I will advise you put
your NYSC experience at the bottom of your job
experience and find other related things you
have done to be at the top even if they are not
paid jobs.
3. Use Keywords
Many job seekers still do not know that they
should write their CV’s like SEO Managers when
submitting their CV to a company online. Many
companies use an enterprise software called
ATS(Applicant Tracking System) to receive pool
of CV’s from job seekers. This ATS would have
been fed with keywords, if these keywords are
not found on the CV you sent, the ATS will not
shortlist your CV to be passed on to the hiring
Manager except you are lucky to have the
Recruiter review your CV manually. For
instance, if a company advertises for a ‘Trainee
Reservoir Engineer’ position, the keywords you
will put on your CV will likely be Reservoir
Engineering, Trainee, Reservoir software,
Evaluation, Reservoir modeling, etc. Of course
you will have to make sure the keywords fit in a
sentence on your CV. Always use the language
of the industry you target.
4. Sell Your Skills
Writing a CV is like writing a business plan.
When writing a business plan, you talk about
how your business can be profitable showing
all the details to catch the interest of the
potential investors. In CV writing, you are the
product. Do not make the mistake of selling
your features (I am a beautiful and intelligent
graduate looking…). No one truly cares if you
are beautiful for a technical position, and I have
not seen a CV where someone wrote that he
was dumb. Everyone always says they are
smart at first. Sell your benefits (skills you have
acquired). If you are applying for a ‘Trainee
Geologist’ position, indicate some of the
software you have learnt on your own such as
petrel, Mbal, etc. The Hiring Manager knows
you are not a specialist yet but demonstrating
your awareness within your industry makes
your CV stands out form other graduates who
just sent a no experience and no skill CV.
5. Keep your Age Confidential
This might work against you sometimes when
you put your age on your CV. For instance
some companies have age limit before they can
shortlist candidates for interviews. Countries
like Algeria more than often will not offer you a
job or Visa if you are close to 70. Your aim for
sending a CV is to land you in an interview, so
avoid everything that might decrease your
chances of getting an interview invite. In the
real sense of it, your age should not determine
your competence on the job; we all deserve a
chance to prove our competence.
6. Write a Professional Profile
It is old fashioned to have ‘objective’ on your
CV. Instead, write a compelling profile such as
‘An excellent Business Development Officer with
over 2years of experience in the Marine sector
covering DP2 Vessel…’ This is the place to
flaunt the software and other skills you know
of.
7. Never include Your Photo (except You are
applying for a Modeling or Showbiz positions)
Using a photo on your CV does not increase
your chances of being shortlisted for an
interview except if required for the position you
are applying for. People might develop wrong
or good opinion about you based on how you
look. Your aim is to let your CV land you an
interview so avoid anything that might prevent
it from happening.
8. Send Your CV in Word format(Only send PDF
when requested)
Many ATS software used by companies cannot
read PDF files. Most CV’s uploaded in PDF will
be rendered in error therefore jeopardizing your
chances of getting shortlisted. By default,
always endaevour to send your CV in Word
format unless otherwise stated.
9. Avoid Designing or Using Excessive Tables
On Your CV
Tables often make it impossible for some
devices or software to read certain part of your
CV. This might decrease your chances of
getting shortlisted as important information
satisfying the requirements of the job you are
applying for might have been shielded by the
tables. Many devices are not table friendly so
job seekers are advised to avoid using
excessive tables or designing their CV’s. This
does no good to applicants at all.
10. Do not Write Your Grade Except You Made
Upper Class
Except your grade is First Class, Second Class
Upper, Distinction, and Upper Credit, you should
never put any other grade lower than this on
your CV. If you made Second Class Lower,
simply write ‘Obafemi Awolowo University, BSc.
In Petroleum Engineering’. Do not put grade
except it is upper class.
If you stick with these tips and incorporates it
into your CV writing skills, I believe you should
be closer to getting your interviews lined up
soon. I shall be writing a piece on what to do
when you have gotten an interview invite. Many
candidates have ruined golden opportunities
during interviews due to ill preparation.
Feel free to ask questions through this thread
on how best you can write your CV or if you
simply want to have your CV re-written
professionally, I suggest you send a mail to
Lachenzy@gmail.com
