Make your CV stand out

Are you applying for an internship or for a job? Are you fixing up your CV? You probably are. Right around this time of year, everyone starts applying to different internships for the coming semester or graduating students are applying for jobs. This means that there is no better time than now to make sure that your CV is perfect.

Below are some tips that would make your CV stand out among other applicants’ CV’s:

→ Start strong

Start your CV with a well-written personal statement. This personal statement is your chance to introduce yourself to the recruiters. That is exactly why it has to be brief yet very informative.

→ Tailor your CV to every job you apply for

When reading a job description, you can identify some words which you can use to modify your CV. These words will add a little something to your CV which will capture the attention of the recruiter because these are the skills or the things he is looking for. Do not use the same words that everyone else uses.

→ Highlight your achievements

Here’s an example: You are applying for a marketing position. Previously, you did an HR internship, but you also were a part of the marketing team of a student organization. Out of these 2 positions, the marketing one is the one that you should elaborate on. You can use bullet points with the things you did and use powerful verbs such as increased, managed, led, etc.…

→ Check your spelling and grammar

You might be thinking that putting this as one of the tips is unnecessary. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t check their finished documents, whatever that might be, before sending or submitting them. If I am a recruiter, a spelling or grammar mistake would definitely be a red flag for me.

→ Include details for your current or most recent role

Including details about your most recent role will show the recruiters what you have been doing recently. This is especially useful if you’re applying for a similar position.

These tips are broad and are probably repeated a lot but this is the reason as to why they are so important. Also, a little refreshment is never bad. As a student who’s constantly updating and improving her CV as well, I do hope that these tips will be as helpful to you as they were to me.