How to Write a CV for Non-HR Professionals

Do you think that your CV is just a formality? Think again! It's your GOLDEN TICKET to standing out in a crowded job market, especially in the mid-to-late stages of your career. As a 2024 LinkedIn Top Voice and Career Coach, I'm here to help you to improve your CV and Let's take those outdated bullet points and turn your resume into something that gets you noticed and helps you land your dream job. As recruiter, I find myself overwhelmed by resumes filled with dull, unengaging job descriptions 🤢 Don't just list your responsibilities, make your resume tell your career story. Showcase the impact you made in each role. Here are some actionable tips for CV success: 1. Start Strong with a Powerful Summary (About Me) Your summary is your value proposition. It should be an achievement-driven and designed to hook the reader instantly. Make it your elevator pitch – concise, impactful, and impossible to ignore. I prefer "About Me" section to be less than 200 words and contained within a single paragraph 2. Quantify Your Accomplishments Prove your impact with numbers! Rather than saying "managed a team," highlight your success: "As manager of a 15-person team, I spearheaded efforts that led to a 12% surpassment of quarterly goals." 3. Showcase Relevant Skills Make your resume stand out in a crowded job market. When listing your skills, use keywords that match the job descriptions you're interested in. Remember to include both technical abilities (hard skills) and people skills (soft skills) like communication and leadership. 4. Highlight Your Achievement Make your resume stand out by focusing on what you achieved, not just what you were tasked with doing. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to create impactful descriptions that demonstrate your value. 5. Keep it Concise and Current Help recruiters quickly see your best fit by keeping your resume concise (one to two pages). Focus on the last 10-15 years of your career, emphasizing experience that aligns with your desired roles. Red Flags to Avoid: 🚫 Typos and Grammatical Errors: These mistakes can create a negative impression, suggesting a lack of care and precision. 🔕 Irrelevant Information: While your hobbies are interesting, it's best to focus your resume space on experiences and skills directly relevant to the job you're applying for. ⛔ Exaggerations or Lies: Honesty is always the best policy. ❗Remember❗ Your CV is your first impression! By following these tips, you'll craft a compelling narrative that showcases your unique value and lands you that dream job! https://lnkd.in/gKxPGVQP #careertips #resumewriting #jobsearch #linkedintopvoice #careerdevelopment #CV

Have you been applying for jobs lately? This post is for you. Yesterday, I attended a resume prep session organized by the AWS Skills Center in Arlington, VA. I gained some valuable insights that I believe can help anyone looking to enhance their resume and stand out in the job market. ----- Here are some key takeaways ----- 1️⃣ Tailor your resume to each job Carefully read the job description and align your skills and experiences to the requirements. Use keywords from the posting to get past applicant tracking systems (ATS). -> Whatever you put on your resume, be ready to discuss it. 2️⃣ Quantify your achievements Include strong metrics that will show the amount of impact, the number of people, etc. For example, Instead of saying "Improved customer satisfaction," say "Increased customer satisfaction scores by 20% through process improvements." -> Numbers speak louder than words. 3️⃣ Keep it concise and relevant Recruiters typically spend just a few seconds scanning your resume. So, ensure your most relevant experiences and achievements are easy to find. A well-structured one-page resume (or two for more experience) is ideal. -> Everything you put in your resume should be relevant to the job you are applying for. 4️⃣ Highlight transferable skills Even if you’re transitioning into a new role or industry, focus on the skills that apply across domains such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, and adaptability. -> You can include an experience that is not directly related to the role you are applying only if it demonstrates leadership skills. 5️⃣ Professional formatting matters A clean, professional layout with consistent fonts, spacing, and bullet points makes your resume easier to read and leaves a good impression. -> Using fancy fonts will distract recruiters from important information on your resume. 6️⃣ You need more than one resume Keep a primary CV that includes everything you have ever done (DO NOT SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE). Then, create multiple resumes from it when applying.  -> This will save you a lot of time. 7️⃣ Hyperlink wherever possible If you have a chance to hyperlink something on your resume, do it. It will be helpful to the recruiter. -> Keep it simple and avoid long links. For example, for your LinkedIn profile, write it like “in/your_name” and hyperlink it. 8️⃣ Proofread your resume Get someone to proofread your resume. A second eye to your document will always spot something you missed. Besides, anything you see as negligible, could be a big deal to the recruiter. I would like to thank the AWS Skills Center for hosting us. A big shout to the organizers of that resume prep session for their dedicated time and input. It was an invaluable moment for me and I am sure for everyone present. Have you recently updated your resume? What are some tips you would like to add to this list? Let’s discuss this in the comments section. Found this helpful? Please like ❤️, comment 💬, or repost ♻️ to help others.

After I shared the job openings last week, I received a large number of CVs. And honestly, I was surprised: around 80% of them need real improvement. Don't get me wrong, a CV doesn't have to be a piece of art. It doesn't need colors, fancy templates, or perfection. However, it does need to be readable, clear, and provide a clear picture of your experience. When you are in a job search, there is a lot at stake when you send your CV. That's why I want to share a few simple things that can really change the way recruiters see you: 🔷 Name your file with your first and last name. Otherwise, your CV can get lost in a sea of "CV_final_2." 🔷 Add a short 'About Me' section. In a few sentences, give the "big picture" of who you are: your strengths, personality traits, expectations from work, values, etc. Anything that describes you and tells more than a picture. 🔷 If you do include a photo (though I don't recommend it), make it small and aligned with your text. CVs with pictures taking up a quarter of the page look totally unprofessional. 🔷 Unless you are a recent graduate with little or no work experience, list your work experience before your education. If you have 10–15 years of professional life, that's what matters most. 🔷 Don't just list job titles; explain the specific key tasks you performed, show your contribution. 🔷 Keep it to 2 pages max, even if you have many years of experience. What you did 15 years ago is not that important. What matters most are the last 10 years. 🔷 Check spelling. Grammarly or any other tool can help. Dear all, I've spent more than 30 years in HR and coaching. I personally always try to look beyond how a CV looks and focus on the person. However, I can assure you that a junior recruiter scanning 100 CVs a day will put your CV aside if it's not up to standard. That's why I share this. Your CV is your story. It deserves some effort. A question: would it be useful if I offer a free webinar on CV writing and improvement? Put 'YES' in the comments if you or someone you know may benefit from this offer.

In my experience people way over think writing their CV. It is no surprise, with all the bad advice out there, things get over complicated. I have almost 20 years of recruitment experience. This is what I believe to be a solid and simple format for a CV. Lets work from top to bottom. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 A Headline can come in handy to show time-poor recruiters immediately that you are doing a similar job or have experience working in a similar function. EG Russell Ayles Handsome Recruiter 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Area you live (not specific address), link to LinkedIn profile, email and phone number, link to portfolio etc. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 / 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 (optional) Not normally a fan of these necessarily but they can provide context to a career change or just give a topline summary of your industry, specialism and years of experience. 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 & 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺𝘀 These are nothing without context in your CV - but - can be very useful if the role is heavily reliant on particular product experience, systems or specialisms. So you can list the relevant systems and specialiams. Stick to hard skills rather than subjective ones like 'communication' For space, just create a small section like.... Systems: Adobe Illustrator | InDesign | After Effects | Photoshop 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Job Title / Company Name / Month + Year to Month + Year Then, a short summary is good to let me know things like business does, its size, its market etc. Especially for lesser known businesses. You then have a few options to how you portray your experience. Responsibilities + Key Achievements Or Combine them into achievement based responsibilities. But really, regardless of what you do, you need to help me understand your job role and your impact (try to use data/numbers) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗩! Continue this same format and just reduce the amount of info for older or less relevant roles. For most people with around 2+ years experience, education and qualifications will come toward the bottom. But it is all about relevance. So if something is important and relevant, it needs to find it's way to the first page! 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 - Don't fixate on the length of the document, but usually 2-4 pages max should do it! There will always be ifs and buts, but this should work for the majority of roles and industries.

Since the beginning of my journey, I've hired 200+ people. Here are 10 Do's and Dont's I would suggest while applying for a new role 👇 ❌ Don't keep chasing the recruiter with tons of emails or LinkedIn messages ❌ Don't add personal information - date of birth, marital status, etc ❌ Don't cross a one-page limit ❌ Don't send your CV in a Word doc ❌ Don't fabricate the truth ❌ Don't include time gaps without explanation ❌ Don't have a disconnect between your CV and your LinkedIn profile ❌ Don't include an unprofessional looking email address ❌ Don't include salary history or expectations ❌ Don't oversell ✅ Do have a clear, concise professional summary  ✅ Do have specific, measurable achievements ✅ Do include active, powerful language ✅ Do add your unique skills and competencies ✅ Do add relevant certifications or courses ✅ Do add links to your professional online presence (LinkedIn, portfolio etc) ✅ Do maintain consistent formatting ✅ Do draft a clean, easy-to-read layout Remember, your CV is a reflection of you in your professional capacity. Make it count! 💙

Writing a resume doesn't have to feel like torture. You either put it off or rush through it to check it off the list. My process makes writing them easier. Even if resume writing isn't your favorite thing to do, these tips will make the process faster and more effective. With a few smart tweaks, your resume can go from "just done" to a marketing document you are proud of, without days or weeks of struggle. Follow this process: 1. Start with an easy win. →Begin with the easiest writing sections (like skills or education). →This builds momentum and speeds up the entire process. 2. Choose a clear, effective structure. →A hybrid format often works best for mid-career pros, highlighting skills and experience. →This makes your strengths and work history easier for recruiters to find. 3. Use bullet points instead of paragraphs. →Stick to action-packed bullet points to showcase accomplishments. →Keep each point concise and impactful for maximum clarity. 4. Highlight your achievements, not duties. →Focus on results — what you accomplished, not just tasks. →Include metrics when possible, like "Increased revenue by 15%..." 5. Optimize for readability. →Choose a clean, professional font and 10+ pt size for a polished look. →Add clear headings and white space to make it skimmable. 6. Take time to proofread. → After finishing, edit with fresh eyes — even obvious typos can hide in plain sight. →Have someone you trust review for clarity and flow. We are all busy and have many things to do. Wouldn't it be great to cut hours from resume writing? With these tips, you can create a more polished and focused resume in less time. Follow these six steps and transform resume writing from that dreaded task to a manageable process. If you need help with your content because you don't know what recruiters want to see, DM me (it's always free). I offer a resume strategy session to help you create content that will wow hiring teams. ---------- 💜 Helping mid-career professionals find clarity, build confidence, and land jobs they love. 📖 Follow me for career tips, job search strategies, and interview advice. 💌 Need support in your career journey? Reach out—I’m here to help!