Sobhan Mohmand, Career Expert
1 Apr 2021
You have seen a job ad that has really made you jump to your feet with excitement; you have taken time out to write your CV and are about to send off your CV in the next couple of minutes…
But, wait!
Do not submit your CV before you have asked yourself the following questions:
Okay great, you had done most of it, just a few little things still needed some changes. But you are ready now. Yes, you are actually ready now.
Say your little prayer and send off your CV; good luck!
[1] Potential employers are extremely busy, and your CV has only a few seconds (no more than 40) to make a good first impression on them. The length of a CV, apart from certain exceptions, should never be more than two A4 pages.
[2] Your CV heading should be your full name, written in a big font-size. ‘CV’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae’ are not a good idea.
[3] Irrelevant information on your CV can not only make your CV look cluttered, but it also makes it very difficult for your main, important and relevant information to shine through!
[4] Never send out the same CV for different jobs. All jobs are different so you should also have different versions (‘tailored’) for different jobs.
[5] Employers tend to scan things rather than read; short sentences and bullet points will present your CV in such a way that it will be easy to scan.
[6] Printing papers come with different densities measured in grams per square metre (gsm). Normal photocopying paper is either 75 or 80gsm. The recommended paper density to print your CV on is 100gsm.
[7] Although inkjets are more than capable to print good quality pages, it is important to adjust the printing settings to ‘Best quality’ instead of ‘fast draft’ or ‘normal quality.’ This can be done through Microsoft Word’s Printing Settings.
[8] Always print your CV on single rather than double sides because it makes the CV look cheap, the front page is not instantly faced up and it’s more difficult to photocopy.
[9] Checking your CV is vital; you’ll be surprised to find out how many improvements you will make once you proofread your CV a number of times.
[10] An extra pair of eyes can detect any mistakes you have missed when you were proofreading your CV. It is a fact that it is much more difficult to spot your own mistakes than to spot the mistakes of others.
[11] For obvious reasons, every CV should be accompanied by a Cover Letter.