Creating A Clean, Clear CV

How many pages is your resume? If you said more than one it’s probably time to do some snipping.

Irrelevant former jobs

If you’ve only had one or two previous jobs then by all means include them on your resume. If however you’ve been working for a while and have a few past jobs then you should only include the ones related to the position you’re applying for. The fact that you were a greeter at Disney World when you were fifteen probably doesn’t have anything to do with the accounting position you’re applying for now.

Hobbies

Space on your resume is prime real estate. Use it to profile your skills and accomplishments. What you learned in a previous position, how you helped them grow or saved them money or time.

You want to convey all the reasons this prospective employer should be excited about paying you money. Get more personal in your cover letter or during the interview. If your hobbies are relevant to the job you’re applying for then go ahead and mention them, including how they’re going to help you do this job. Otherwise save it for the office Christmas party.

Ditch the unprofessional email address

If your email is SparklePony52@hotmail.com why are you sitting here reading this instead of immediately getting yourself a professional email address? You might think a unique email address says something about you, and makes you stand apart from the rest. You’re right it does, but in all the wrong ways. Don’t let an unprofessional email addrss distract someone from your application.

Skip the weird fonts

You might believe using interesting fonts will attract an employers attention, but if your resume isn’t easy to read and professional looking no one is going to want to read it. Stay ways from script fonts. Pick a serif and a sans serif. Use one for the headers and one for the body points. Don’t mix in a bunch of fonts.

Ensure your CV is clean, simple, elegant and your accomplishments will shine through!