Today we will explain how to write a clear and effective curriculum vitae. Of course, it has happened to you dozens of times to write your resume. At first glance it might seem like a simple thing but, without the right precautions, you risk turning an opportunity into a disaster.

Probably nobody thinks about it but the curriculum, like any other form of communication, has a very specific objective: to convert the reader’s curiosity into a real interest for the candidate. To do this, however, it is necessary to build the curriculum according to a very precise logic, respecting at the same time some rules and guidelines. Let’s see them together.

The information

Strategy always comes from the search for information, whatever your project is. So take the time you need and try to get a general knowledge of the company you are applying for. This work must be done with extreme care and will be useful mainly during the interview phase; better come prepared.

Visit the company’s website, find out who their partners, collaborators and managers are. Find out about their organization and the industry in which they operate. Knowing the company thoroughly will help you tailor your profile to their needs.

 

Personalize your application

The mistake that many make is to write in their resume all the work experiences they have had in their life, and it is wrong. It is necessary to highlight one’s professional qualities, always according to the role that will obviously be covered. We must therefore be careful not to “go off topic”. Let’s take an example:

If I am applying for the role of commercial, but in the past I have also worked as a barman, it does not matter to the company that we worked in the disco as a barman on the weekend.

This little detail, often overlooked, actually risks detracting from our curriculum instead of adding it. The company aims to recruit trained and specialized personnel in its sector. So try to highlight only the skills relevant to the profile sought. Be careful not to confuse the personalization of the application with lying about your abilities. If you are not the right person for that role, do not apply.

If you have worked for only one company and you are afraid that this may somehow penalize you, then be thorough in describing it. Tell your experience, the skills acquired and the professional growth you have experienced together with any collaborators and colleagues. It is useless to fill the curriculum with “useless” experiences. The curriculum must always be tailor-made and must reflect your person.

So do you have to write a different curriculum vitae for each company? Of course not! However, you must write a resume for each professional role that you are able to fill.

If you have been a bartender for many years but have been a commercial in the past few years, you will need a bartender job resume and a sales resume. It will be the cover letter that will then be personalized for each company.

Don’t forget that whoever is on the other side, the recruiter / company owner, will receive dozens of applications, perhaps even hundreds, which in 90% of cases will end up in the trash because they are not in line with the profile sought.

Have you ever noticed what is written in most of the job advertisements?

Applications that are not in line with the profile sought by the company will not be considered. Refrain wasters.

Is the company looking for someone like you? Do you feel you are the right person to fill that role? If the answer is yes then let yourself be found, giving the right answer. The company is knocking on your door, but also on the door of others, don’t forget that.

A job offer is like a call, and your application matches an answer. So be thorough in answering, accurate and focus only on your real abilities, skills that can benefit the company.

If your presentation is well done, as long as your profile matches the one sought by the company, you will have no difficulty in earning an introductory meeting. That said, all that remains is to start writing our resume. But where to start? And how should the curriculum be structured?

The structure of the curriculum

Many use the classic European template or a pre-filled template.  If you really want to stand out, prepare something unique and personal. You will have to dedicate 2 or 3 hours to do something well done, but you will be rewarded by your effort.

As for the length it is recommended not to exceed three or four pages. No one will ever read an 8-10 page resume. Be brief and highlight the most important things right away. Remember that the curriculum says a lot about the way you operate; it is still your creation.

Use bold to emphasize key terms in the text. Customize it with a font of your liking but never use “Times New Roman”. Instead, choose a clean, clear, and easy-to-read font. Divide the text into sections and each section into paragraphs. Always leave white space between the title of a section and its respective paragraphs. Use bulleted and numbered points to facilitate reading and summarize topics.

A correct division could have this form:

 

Personal data

A professional photo of you
Name and Surname
Date and place of birth
Citizenship
Residence
Domicile
Driving license
Telephone
Mobile
E-mail
Link to your social profiles

 

Instruction

Qualifications
Professional Titles
Certifications
Awards and competitions won
refresher courses
Training Courses

 

Skills

In this section you have to describe in detail all your professional skills, your skills and everything related to your job profile. It tells your recruiter what you can do and how you know how to do it.

 

Work experience

Enter all your work experiences (only and exclusively related to the profile sought, please). It doesn’t matter the order in which you write them, the important thing is that they are in line with a temporal logic maintained throughout the document.

If you start from the oldest to the most recent, keep this order throughout the curriculum, for all sections (educational qualifications, professional qualifications, certifications, etc.).

From … to … at ESTOVA Media.
Role I held in the company:
What I did:
Projects carried out:

From … to … at …….

Role I held in the company:
What I did:
Projects carried out:

From … to … at ………

Role I held in the company:
What I did:
Projects carried out:

 

Personal skills and attitudes

In this section you can write all your personal qualities, skills and abilities. It tells your recruiter how you know how to face the daily challenges and opportunities of life.

Hobbies and Passions (optional)

In this section you can write all your passions and hobbies.

Conclude the document by inserting the authorization to process personal data at the bottom of the page and your signature.

 

 

Things not to do

 

Here are some things not to do at all:

• Lying about work experience
• Lying about one’s professional skills and abilities
• Send a resume without photos or with unprofessional photos
• Send a resume full of errors and without a logic in the structure
• Use different fonts in the same document
• Use fonts that are elaborate and difficult to read
• Use fonts of different colors
• Resumes with colorful or patterned backgrounds

Conclusion

 

Now that you know how to write a perfect CV, don’t waste time, get to work and create your best CV of your career.

I wish you success, and endeavor to testify here.

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