New Trends In CV Writing That You Should Know!

If you’re looking to land a new job, you need a quality CV that will impress the employers. From formatting and style to content and language, it’s crucial that every element of your CV is flawless.

Writing a professional CV can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting. I have been there myself. I applied for jobs so many times without any success. I mean, I polished everything in my CV and had the right qualifications. When I found the perfect job opportunities I would send my CV and breathlessly wait for the call-back…but it never happened.

Does that sound familiar? Yes, it does for most of us. But how’s that possible?

Your CV has never been read or it wasn’t good enough.

I talked to a friend of mine about the issue and the first thing he advised me was to seek help from a professional CV writer.

I followed his advice, shared my CV and after going through my CV, Winston, a CV writer expert showed me loopholes I needed to work on to get me my first job.

“There have been vast changes in the job market over the last couple of years. New trends in CV writing being one of them,” Winston said.

The job search arena is constantly updating because of global events and innovation. You also need to make sure that you revamp your job search documents according to these new trends.

Worry not! I have listed important new CV trends to help you also write a job-winning CV.

1. Field-specific CV.

The golden rule in applying for a job is this: make sure you’re applying for the job that matches the skills that you have. For example in your CV, if the job title is “digital marketer” make sure your digital marketing skills come out clearly on your CV.

Winston advised me to avoid the generic CV that I was using and tailor a field-specific or targeted CV. By highlighting the skills that match the job criteria, the CV can immediately show that you are qualified for the job. This can get you better chances of being called for an interview.

When writing a field-specific CV, it is important to do background research about job requirements. Apart from what’s posted, you can also expand your research to the most commonly requested qualifications for that specific job. By doing so, you’ll have better ideas on how best to present your related skills, qualification, and achievements.

2. Keeping it short

My CV was too long; the sentences were too long with multiple clauses and commas. A concise CV will go down better with employers mainly because they are too busy and likely to skim-read.

The best way I dealt with this issue was to re-read everything and simplified it. Short statements get your point across and in less space.

Gone are the days when job seekers wrote a four-page CV. CVs should stick to a maximum of two A4 pages (unless you are an academic job seeker)

3. Make use of the top quarter

Recruiters are skim-readers, so it’s a good idea to grab their attention as quickly as possible. The top quarter of your CV should include a brief career profile that explains who you are and what you do, your suitability for the role, and the unique selling point that makes you the best fit. This should be followed by a list of your top skills. This section needs to be the most persuasive and full of value.

“Avoid personal information such as your height, marital status, etc., instead utilize the space to showcase your career profile,” Winston suggested.

4. Major in recent roles.

Long and impressive employment history will fill up your CV quite quickly. It’s really easy to want to show off everything you can do, but too much is going to make the reader switch off.

It is important to go into more detail about your more recent roles because they’ll matter most to the employer. Older roles should be condensed into a few summary bullet points, so the employer knows the essentials. Depending on how many roles you have to mention, you could reduce everything from 5+ years ago.

Conclusion

A succinct CV with concise detail is much more valuable than writing as much as you can think of. You want the reader to remember you and what you can do, not be overwhelmed with information. These new CV writing trends can help keep your ground in the globally competitive market.

You can also sign up for a free CV review from an expert.

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