17 Hacks which will make your CV more noticeable

With more than 3 decades of experience of working in IT industry and since last 2+ years of working with a HR company, I have had the chance to look at both sides of the coin when it comes to recruitments from recruiting candidate to finding the right candidate for the client. I often get queries from LinkedIn to help people find their dream job. Given the time I have spent in the industry, I have certain tangible data points and techniques that I would like to share that can help you land your dream job by making your CV relevant and stand-out from the rest of the crowd.

So this blog post is to pen down those easy hacks that can get you a step closer on finding the right job for yourself.

1. Aim: The purpose of your resume in not to get you the job. The resume will help you in getting shortlisted for the job, performing in the interview will help you in getting the job. Have this fact sorted before you start working on your CV so that you can channel your thoughts accordingly

2. 2nd Opinion: Always get your CV reviewed by a peer/friend or a professional. It helps you get a second opinion (and hence new insights) as reading your own CV time and again may become overwhelming and redundant

3. Pages: It has been stressed for some time now that one should keep the number of pages in the CV between 1–2 but I would recommend to include all details that you feel are relevant and should be highlighted even if it exceeds a couple of pages (but as a good practice, don’t stretch it beyond 4 pages)

4. Leadership Skill: Carefully map and highlight your transition from handling a junior position to handling a leadership role even if you have not been officially leading a team. Companies are always on the look-out for candidates with potential leadership skills.

5. Points to be included: Below are some key pointers that you should include in your CV

- Always highlight your achievements. If you don’t have many, mention the value add you provided to the company such as, ‘was instrumental in helping win a 100,000 USD deal’ etc.

- Mention all your certifications and highlight the ones that are relevant

- Work Experience: Try to be as succinct as possible. Use bullet points and underline the key KRAs

- Tweak your resume to ensure you have the right key words to match algorithm based searches

6. Points to be ignored: Do not include the below information

- Do not include any personal information like your address, passport etc. Just include your email and phone number

- If your total experience is more than 5+ years, do not bother to include your high school details

- Do not mention the name of any of your client as it is normally against company policies. Mask the name by providing a generic reference such as biggest retailer in UK etc.

7. Formatting: Formatting highlights your professionalism. Ensure there are no spelling mistakes, font sanctity is maintained across headings, sub-headings and body of the text etc.

8. Tailor made and customized: Every job that you apply for and if you are serious about getting selected make your resume is customized to the job. I highly recommend one resume per job.

9. Overseas jobs: Specially when you are applying for overseas job, ensure you highlight your relevant work permits in your CV.

10. Updated Content: Ensure the information you mention is as latest and updated as possible. Moreover, ensure that the timelines are in sync across companies and projects (such as duration of stay across organizations should not clash, project details in the current organization should not be 2 years old etc.)

11. Cover Letter: It should be just a single page document providing an overview of your resume. There are strong chances that if your cover letter is not impressive enough, your resume might not get a look at all.

12. Cover Letter Contents: Things to know about writing a good cover letter

- It should be unique i.e. it should be customized for each job that you apply

- Its details should match with the content in your resume

- it should not go beyond a page

13. Salary Expectations: Expectations of salary should not be mentioned point blank in the CV. Salary is something that is best discussed/negotiated in-person during an interview.

14. Additional Sections: For fresh graduates, some additional sections that can be included are:

- Highlight your non-academic achievements (extra curricula’s) as it provides a holistic view of your personality

- Include some volunteer experience

- If you are currently not in college, include what you were doing in terms of skill development and if possible, invest in learning a new skill

15. Avoid Pictures: Unless you are applying for a job where the physical traits are very important (such as modelling, acting etc.), avoid the use of pictures

16. Take the plunge: Apply for your dream job even if you don’t fulfill all the pre-requisites (such as experience, technical skill-set etc.). Highlight your qualities such as fast learner, open for new challenges etc. as companies are always open to discussion if they feel a candidate at least meets all the basic benchmarks required for the job and has the acumen to take on a challenge

17. Fact Check: Ensure, especially for niche technical jobs, that you can justify at the time of the interview, the skills that you mention in your resume. Lying/diluting the details might get your CV shortlisted but it will definitely not help you in getting the job

Lastly, I would like to end by saying that having a consistent approach, following the right technique and methodologies and a look-out in the right direction will surely help you in bagging the job of your dreams. Thanks for reading my article.

Do reach out if you have specific requirement to seek our recruitment services for both individuals and clients.

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