What you include in your resume will mostly be determined by the position for which you are seeking. Here are some broad guidelines to follow before we go into the specifics.
#1. Alter your resume for each position you apply for.
A curriculum vitae (CV) is a record of your professional accomplishments. Due of the time commitment involved, it’s easy to just use the same one over and over again.
Every opening, however, will require a unique set of abilities from the applicants. You should tailor the bullet points that follow your work descriptions and academic affiliations to highlight why you’re the best fit for this role. To give one specific example, if you are an artist seeking a public commission, you should highlight your experience with public participation in your work through the use of bullet points. If you are an academic seeking a teaching post, highlight your experience in the classroom rather than your research.
#2. Familiarize yourself with “CV talk.”
Writing a curriculum vitae (CV) is challenging for non-native English speakers since it requires a formal style of writing that isn’t typical in everyday speech. You need to:
Don’t use any pronouns at all.
Always use a verb at the beginning of a phrase.
Eliminate all superfluous adjectives.
To effectively convey your accomplishments, just the most essential details need be included. Instead of describing your accomplishments, try to use numbers to sell yourself. Consider how you may normally describe a feat, for instance:
In a significant dig outside of Rochester, I managed a crew of fifty archeologists. Previously unknown ruins of a medieval city were uncovered by us.
On a resume, you might say something like this:
overseen a dig with fifty archaeologists near Rochester’s cathedral. Found the remnants of a medieval city that had been hidden for centuries.
Writing in CV is challenging because it violates many standard English writing conventions. Keep in mind that ease-of-use is its primary objective. Writing in a curriculum vitae format makes it possible to quickly and easily summarize your work experience and achievements. Taking out all the personal details and sentiment from your work history is a great way to highlight the fact that your accomplishments speak for themselves.
Book a session with a private Preply English coach if you need help understanding this material. They will gladly review your resume and offer advice on how to present your work experience in the most favorable light.
#3, Go for a clean design.
Numerous attractive CV templates including bold graphics, white space, and contrasting borders and colors are available for download online. If you’re not seeking for a job in the visual arts, it’s better to steer clear of these.
Keep in mind that this paper’s purpose is to demonstrate your authority. Don’t complicate the layout. You’re making a statement of strength. This demonstrates that your professional accomplishments are impressive even without the flashy packaging.
Use a standard, legible typeface like Arial or Times New Roman, and stick to black and white for the entire document. Make sure to use enough distinct formatting to denote sections, but keep it simple. You may use a line to separate sections, or set heads apart with a little bigger font size.
#4. Double-check for uniform formatting.
One of the (many) uncomfortable aspects of creating a resume? There is no universal set of formatting principles, but if you do not format the document in the same way throughout, it will look rather weird. For example, if you place one of your subheadings in bold, you should make sure that all of the other subheadings are in bold, too – even if there is no formal guideline to indicate you need to put all of your CV subheadings in bold!
Creating and maintaining your own set of formatting guidelines can be difficult, so using a CV template like the one provided in this article is recommended. There are numerous tiny things to consider while designing your CV consistently, but here are several to look out for:
- Do you use periods at the end of your bullet points?
- Do you just list the city where you worked previously, or do you also include the country?
- Do you write out numbers as words (e.g. one, two) or write them as figures (e.g. 1, 2)?
- The font size of each subsection, by the way?
- Do you abbreviate the months of the year to “Jan,” “Feb.,” and “Mar.,” or do you write out the entire names of the months?
- Do your bullet points all line up properly on the page?
Many people have trouble spotting inconsistencies while reviewing their own work. Try drafting your first draft of a CV, then checking it again a day or more later, with fresh eyes. You will most likely see flaws that you missed earlier. If you can, have someone else check it for you, too.