The 10 tips to improve your CV

We are facing a very demanding labor market and, although it seems like a simple role, the curriculum vitae is the document that will serve us as a presentation, and it can lead us to success... or to failure.

Therefore, it is essential know what are the keys to improve a curriculum vitae Although it is technically correct and has all the necessary information, it does not make us stand out.

How to improve your CV?

If something characterizes resumes, it is that they present a lot of information about a person from a very limited space. This need to compress data into just a page and a half can lead to many wrong decisions and to give an image that does not correspond to the type of candidates sought by the company we aspire to get in.

The curriculum vitae is the first thing that companies that are offering a job that we want usually fixate on. This means that simply preventing the reading from being stopped halfway through the text is challenging. According to an investigation by “TheLadders”, It takes a recruiter about 6 seconds to decide if you are eligible after looking at your CV.

But How to develop a successful resume? What information should our curriculum have? In this text we have proposed to unravel the main keys that make a CV not go directly to the trash can.

10 fundamental points to make a good CV

Then from Psychology and Mind, we present you with all the information you need to develop a resume that will seduce the recruiter and that will help you maximize your chances of getting a job.

Improving your CV can only bring you positive consequences. The job is much closer with a powerful resume that highlights your professional and personal virtues.

1. Build your CV based on the position you aspire to

You are selling yourself on a piece of paper, so you need to tailor your information to reflect what the company is looking for. Try to research the company and visit its website to find out the objectives or values ​​it promotes. Try to capture the philosophy of the company and the position in your curriculum vitae. Create your personalized CV and use a format that best suits the industry in which you want to work.

For example: if you are a graphic designer, make a CV that demonstrates your mastery of that field. If, on the other hand, you aspire to a job as a manager in a multinational company, stick to a more classic model of resume.

Regarding which CV template to use, I recommend that you read this article:

• “Types of Curriculum Vitae - The 4 CV models (advantages and disadvantages)“

2. Highlight your qualities, but never lie

You must be honest as your CV will be used to structure the interview if you are one of the selected candidates. Don't include false information as it can get you in trouble later in the process. Use your resume to highlight your skills and strengths.

If you lie, keep in mind that the chances of them realizing the deception are quite high, and your image will be permanently damaged. It's not a good idea. I recommend that you be honest, with the truth you can go much further than with lies.

3. Decide if you want to include an objective

There is some discrepancy among experts on whether or not to include an objective in your resume. A recruiter may dismiss your application if he believes you have very high expectations for the position. If you want to work, skip it. On the contrary, if what you want is a job that is not below your expectations, you can include it.

It all depends on the type of job you aspire to, and the image you want to give as a professional.

4. Your CV should not be as long as your years of experience

This can be tricky if you have a lot of experience and are proud of your career path, but you should only include information relevant to the position. If you are in your 20s, you should probably use a single page. Even if you have accumulated many years of experience, it is not advisable to use more than two pages (one sheet written on the front and on the back).

It is much better to produce a single sheet but powerful and attractive to the eye, than not to use five or six pages of endless resume. The brief, yes good, twice good.

5. Use blanks to direct the recruiter's gaze to specific points

Try not to include so much information that you end up distracting the recruiter. Create a resume that's easy on the eyes and use the blank spaces to attract the recruiter's eye on those important aspects of your profile.

Keep in mind that HR staff may spend a few seconds evaluating your resume, So make it easy for him and choose a design that highlights your most relevant skills and experiences.

6. Use bullets to highlight roles, responsibilities, or accomplishments

Under each job done, specify roles or achievements with no more than four or five bullets. Do not use entire sentences, you must limit yourself to writing what is fair and necessary. This space will help the recruiter have a fairly clear idea of ​​the functions and tasks that you have developed in each of your previous work experiences.

Remember: fair information, do not go overboard detailing all your functions.

7. Include academic information briefly

Include only academic information relevant to the position: name of the center, the title and the year of graduation. Experienced workers should include education at the end of their resume. If you are a recent graduate, you can include final degree projects or dissertations that include significant aspects for the position for which you aspire.

Education is important, but some companies give it a relative importance. It is your obligation to know to what extent you should highlight the aspects related to your work experience, or your training.

8. Don't include your hobbies

Recruiters only care what you can do for the company, so If you can't connect hobbies with the job you want to get, you'd better not include them in your CV. If you consider that your hobbies or hobbies that you do have to do with the position, you can include them at the end.

Improve your CV by stating only that information relevant to the company that may require your professional services.

9. You do not need to mention references

If your future employer wants to talk to your former bosses, don't worry: they will notify you so that you can provide them with the contact. Do not provide that information unless they ask for itThis will give you time to notify your old manager and update him.

Don't forget to talk to your old boss and explain why they are going to call him and what do you think he would be a good way for him to explain your skills and competencies to the company he's interested in you. Be careful, don't force him to say according to what either, give him a little freedom and confidence.

10. Use a chronological CV

Depending on the way the information is organized, the curriculum vitae can be of various types. This is one of the keys when it comes to improving your resume

The chronological CV, which consists of ordering the data of the curriculum vitae from the most recent to the oldestIt is the most used format and the one most accepted by recruiters. On the other hand, the functional curriculum, which consists of ordering the curriculum vitae by thematic blocks, is recommended when the experience is very dispersed or when there are long periods of time in which there has not been worked up. This can cause the functional CV to be understood by the most expert recruiters, as a way to make up the CV.

Other points that you should keep in mind to improve your CV

Remember that a good resume cannot do without some basic characteristics in its aesthetic composition:

• Clear, concrete and concise, the minimum and maximum length should be 1 or 2 pages.
• Pleasant for the recruiter's view.
• Computer written, without errors, without faults and without manual corrections.
• Find one CV template that suits your needs.
• Spacing and with wide margins.
• With the headlines and highlights or interesting highlights.
• Without revealing all the information, just enough to get the recruiter's attention.

If your CV has impressed them ...

If you have followed the steps that we have indicated, you have given your CV to a company and they have called you… Congratulations! You have passed the first test. But now you have to overcome another: the interview.

In this article by Psychology and Mind called "The 10 most frequent mistakes in job interviews”We review what are the things that you should never do an interview, so you can go and show that you are the candidate they are looking for. Good luck!

Bibliographic references:

• Alles, M. (1997). 200 CV models. Buenos Aires: Granica.
• Landrum, R. (2005). The curriculum vita: a student's guide to preparation. Psi Chi. 9(2) 28-29.