Job seekers, especially fresh graduates can easily spend hours – or days labouring over their CV. But does that hard work result in the perfect CV? And will it hook the employer?
According to a survey by Monster Malaysia, 67% of employers across Southeast Asia said they spend less than three minutes reading a CV – 50% spend 1-3 minutes scanning it, while 17% will only glance at your resume for less than 60 seconds.
A good CV doesn’t just showcase your work; it matches the recruiter’s expectations.
Follow these tips and tricks to make sure you craft a winning resume and help you land a job.
Keep The Format Simple And Clean
Make it easy for recruiters to find the valuable and key information — include enough space between lines and in the margins to make it readable, and also put the focus on the relevant information. The same survey indicated that 45% of employers across SEA want applicants to ensure that the resume is well written and easy to read.
While it’s ok to spend time over choosing the best action words for your CV, and ensuring that everything is put perfectly, please remember – few hiring managers are actually reading your resume for less than a minute. Rather, they are speedily skimming the page, looking for keywords, job titles, and facts that will show if you are a good fit for the position.
Apply Only If You Care About The Job You’re Actually Applying
Needless to say, the first thing an employer is going to notice is if your resume is relevant to the job that they are hiring for. Are you a good fit for the role? Does your title closely match the job you’re applying to? Make sure to tailor your experiences and accomplishments to demonstrate how they can benefit the job you’re applying for.
Do You Have The Qualifications To Do The Job?
Employers often complain that the majority of CVs they receive for jobs are from candidates who simply aren’t qualified to do the job. Not surprisingly, Monster’s survey also suggests that 58% of employers want to see if you have the right qualifications and education for the job you’re applying. Too many people think that they can increase their chances of being hired by applying to more jobs. Please stop doing that. Getting hired doesn’t happen by sheer luck!
You increase your chances of being hired by sending out relevant, tailored resumes specifically to jobs that you are qualified for and would actually like to do.
But do make sure that you have at least some qualification (for you to do the job well) asked for. List them out in easy-to-read sentences and bullet points, and highlight your past accomplishments to show how you stand out from the rest.
Keep It Relevant And Updated
Please remember, you should only show the most recent years of your career and only include the experience relevant to the positions to which you are applying. 68% of employers care most about experiences that are relevant to the role.
Showcasing your experience is key. And if you have a choice between including an additional summer internship or going into more detail about your present role, always choose the latter, unless a previous job was more relevant to the one you’re applying to.
