CV Writing Tips

Unknown to most job seekers, when it comes to writing CVs, there are safe and unsafe fonts. Safe fonts are fonts that can be displayed on another computer when your CV is emailed while unsafe fonts are exactly the opposite — they don’t display on another computer when your CV is emailed. And the ignorance of this has been responsible for the mass failures of CVs and the consequent joblessness of many job seekers. You want to avoid it.

Understand this: no employer will email you and ask you to re-write your CV and resend it because the fonts didn’t display. They haven’t time for that. That is why you must take the issue of font type for your CV very serious.

So, before choosing any font for your CV , here are 4 crucial questions you must ask yourself:

1. Is it a safe font?

2. Is it easy on the eyes?

3. Is it clear enough to read?

4. Would it come out fine when printed out?

Now I know someone will say, “Hey! Edwin Akpan, before you go, can you please tell us which fonts are safe and which fonts are not safe?”

Okay, okay, I’ll tell you only five of them. If you’re wise, you’ll Google out the rest. The following fonts are safe fonts:

1. Arial

2. Verdana

3. Georgia

4. Tahoma

5. Garamond

6. Times New Roman

I know, I know, I added one to make it six — good for you. But let me sound a word of caution here. Just because they are safe fonts doesn’t mean you can use any of them in your body text and stand out of thousands of other applicants. No! There are actually more requirements to choosing a font than just its safety. The questions you need to ask yourself before settling down for one are the questions I have already revealed above.

You want to go and see how the fonts look like? Great idea!

Discover How to Write Killer CVs that No Employer Dares to Refuse! Visit http://www.killercv.mycvwizard.com

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According to a certain research, 98% of CVs end up in the wastebasket. In fact, one research shows that if you gather all the CVs being circulated today and put them together end to end, they would go round the earth over 26 times!
Does that bother you as a jobseeker? It should.

Now, have you ever wondered why these CVs fail woefully? Indeed, there are many reasons, but the number reason is…

Most CV’s don’t address the needs and concerns of the employers.

Most jobseekers shoot themselves in the foot by writing only one CV and send the same CV to every job opening thy come across. How funny!

Employers only care about themselves and themselves alone. They don’t give a flying fig about your career objectives or goals. So writing a CV that doesn’t address what they want will bore them and they won’t waste a second before they send it to where such CVs belong – the wastebasket.

But wait… equally important is the need to know why jobseekers don’t write CV’s that address the needs and concerns of the employers.

1. They don’t know it’s important.
2. They don’t take the time to identify the needs of employers
3. They ask the typist at the “business center” to write their CV
4. They send the same CV to every job opening
5. They don’t know how to effectively address employers’ needs in their CV

Bottom line: If you don’t want your CV to end up in the wastebasket, then write a CV that addresses the specific needs and problems of employers.

To discover how to write a CV that addresses the unique needs and problems of employers, and get them excited to meet you, get my ebook: How to Write Outstanding CVs that Make Employers Excited to Meet You! Visit http://www.mycvwizard.com to get more important information.

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1. Know your potential employers

A lot of jobseekers don’t know their potential employers, their needs, problems, and concerns. As a result they write a CV that employers don’t care about. To write an effective CV, keep this CV writing tip in mind.

2. Prove your skills and core competencies.

Most CVs fail because most jobseekers think that by just listing their skills and qualities in their CV, employers will believe them and call them up for interview. Instead of just writing “Excellent Communicator”, add that you delivered a speech at a world conference in Ghana or helped previous company renegotiate debt payment.

3. Make the most of the introductory part of your CV

Whether you’re starting with an objective statement or profile statement make sure that you make the most of this critical part of your CV by briefly mentioning the problems and needs of the employers and the skills you possess to solve the problems and meet the needs, not forgetting to prove them by revealing how your solve similar problem in the past. Employers decide whether to read a CV or not in less than 5 seconds – that is why must take this CV writing tip very serious.

4. proofread your CV 101 times

The importance of proofreading a CV cannot be overemphasized. CVs riddled with errors are like bad breath, everybody hates them. Errors and inconsistencies say a lot about job applicants. Just one or two blunders can scuttle your chance of getting your dream job. Proofread your CV as many times as possible. Give it also to your friends to help you proofread. You are not the best proofreader of your CV.

5. Use bullets to stress key information

Bullets have a way of drawing attention to information. Use them especially when you are stressing key information like your accomplishment statements.

6. Start your CV with the most important information

When you are developing content for your CV, identify and isolate the information you know is the most important, it could be your previous accomplishment that stands you out of the crowd. The trick is to follow it with the next important information. This is the trick I use to write attention-grabbing and deadly effective CVs for my clients.

7. Use safe and professional fonts

Fonts like Arial, Verdana are safe fonts – that is, fonts that can be emailed via the Internet without losing its formatting or displaying strange codes.  Ditch Times New Roman, it’s an outdated font style.

8. Avoid using CAPITAL letters all over your CV

Apart from hurting the eyes, capital letters are unprofessional. Again, your CV may be caught as a spam and not delivered to the right inbox.

9. Avoid comparing yourself to other applicants

Do not say that you’re better than other applicants because you barely know them. And have it in mind that employers don’t know you and other applicants to be able to judge.

10. Focus on your accomplishments instead of responsibilities

What are the great things you achieved in your last workplace? Focus on them. Don’t waste your CV space listing your previous job responsibilities. There is a BIG difference between responsibility and accomplishment. For example, don’t say you were responsible for typing, say you typed over 4,700 documents in just a year you spent in your former workplace.

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CV Writing Commandment #1: Thou shall know the needs and concerns of your would-be employers and address them in your CV

This is the foundation of writing a CV. Employers only care about their needs and concerns. In fact, the reason they hire people is to come and meet their needs, solve their problems, and help them achieve their goals. Want to get hired fast? Then keep this CV writing commandment in mind.

CV Writing Commandment #2: Thou shall tell employers in your CV why they must employ you

When employers don’t see why they must employ you, they won’t. Most employers take gambles when it comes to selecting those to interview, because they find it difficult to spot an outstanding applicant. And this is because most CV writers don’t tell employers why they should employ them and not someone else. To take control of the process, tell employers why they must employ you. You can do this in your profile or objective statement section of your CV. Warning! Focus on the needs of the employers.

CV Writing Commandment #3: Thou shall include your accomplishments and not your responsibilities

Most jobseekers and CV writers focus on previous job responsibilities instead of accomplishments. There is a BIG difference between responsibilities and accomplishments. For instance, a Webmaster could be responsible for driving traffic to a Website, but how do you tell if he actually succeeded in driving the needed traffic to the Website. See? Employers always look for what to base your future performance on, and your accomplishment statements will help them do so. Obey this law and your CV will get you an interview quicker than you ever thought possible.
CV Writing Commandment #4: Thou shall give specific information

Nothing could be worse than telling the truth in your CV but being perceived as lying. When it comes to CV writing, perception is everything. Don’t give room for your employers to think you’re economical with the truth. Spell out everything specifically. Instead of writing “Attracted traffic to company’s Website”, write “Attracted an average of 1,750 targeted traffic daily…”

CV Writing Commandment #5: Thou shall keep your design and formatting simple

Your CV is meant to get you an interview not to win you an award as the best designer in the world. Keep your designs and formatting simple. Stick to one font style. Avoid floral borders and shadings. Keep everything simple. This is one of the commandments of CV writing that if ignored can cost jobseekers their jobs.

CV Writing Commandment #6: Thou shall include action-words that give power to your CV

Most of CVs are powerless. Make your own powerful by including action-words that give power to your CV and stand you out as an action-oriented person. Action words are simply verbs that you can use to start your accomplishment statements and include in your profile and other key places in your CV. Words like…Reorganized, pioneered, initiated, solved, and so on.

CV Writing Commandment #7: Thou shall avoid timeworn, hackneyed phrases at all cost

I filled many positions successfully, I can type fast, and all sorts are some of the hackneyed phrases that jobseekers riddle their CVs with and make them lifeless. The above claims beg the question – “By exactly how much?” The commandment is to do without them.

CV Writing Commandment #8: Thou shall include soft skills employers value in the workplace

In today’s job market, employers place high premium on soft skills such as leadership skills, communication skills, ability to work well under pressure, ability to work well with others (teamwork), self management, and so on. Include them in your CV.

CV Writing Commandment #9: Thou shall not lie or be dishonest in any part of your CV

Don’t imitate corrupt and desperate jobseekers who lie in their CVs to sound to very qualified. In case you never know, employers hire consultants to do many background checks for claims made by applicants they are about to hire or already hired.

CV Writing Commandment #10: Thou shall proofread your CV for both typographical and grammatical errors as many times as possible

Your spellings and grammar tell a lot about you. An error-riddled CV portrays you as a careless person who lacks a sound scale of value while an error-free CV exposes you as a person committed to excellence. Guess what? Employers are looking for people who are committed to excellence. Proofread your CV a many times as possible. Give it to your friends and family members to help you proofread as well.

The 10 laws of CV writing are meant to be obeyed and not broken.

You can get more tips and key CV writing principles in my e-book: How to Write Outstanding CVs that Make Employers Excited to Meet You! For more info, email me at myceevee @ yahoo . com

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