Our how-to guide on creating your own CV

Creating your own CV can be an easy task with the right guidance. With so many tools and templates out there, you can create an eye-catching CV quickly and easily. We often hear people say that first impressions are important and the same counts for your CV. It’s the first thing a prospective employer will see of you and if it doesn’t provide them with the information that they are looking for quickly and easily, you will most likely not stand a good chance of being invited for an interview.

So, don’t waste time, create your CV today and get your job search started on Job Mail.

Not sure where to start in creating your own CV? Follow the guide below:

Step 1 – Choose a programme:

Choose the programme you are going to use to create your CV. There is a wide variety of programmes you can use, but the most popular options would be Word or Google Docs. Both offer a wide variety of free, downloadable templates you can use to create your CV. There are also other online template websites you can use if you can’t find something you like. You can even search on Google Images or Pinterest for CV designs and build your own one.

Step 2 – Choose a design:

The design of your CV needs to be an accurate reflection of who you are. Remember, this is the first impression you will make on prospective employers and you need to make sure your CV stands out above the rest of the candidates. You need to keep in mind that your CV still needs to look professional, so putting a flower border on your CV might not have the desired effect. Browsing through some images online will give you an idea of what the standard is and what you would prefer your CV to look like.

When creating your own CV, you also need to consider the length of the document when selecting a design. Keep your CV short and sweet, preferably with a maximum of two pages.

Photo Source – www.freepik.com

Step 3 – Start Building:

1. Personal Information:

This can include your full names and surname, contact details such as a phone number, email address, physical address and more. Make sure that your email address looks professional. If your email address contains your high school nickname, it’s time to consider creating a new one.

Optional extras include adding links to your social media profiles, so potential employers can learn more about you.

You can also include your ID number, age, citizenship, disabilities, gender, marital status, race, languages, and driver’s license code.

Photo Source – microsoft.com

2. Work experience:

Your work experience should be listed from the latest to the oldest jobs. In this section, you should include the period you’ve worked there, the company’s name, your job title, your responsibilities, as well as any achievements.

You can also include a contactable reference for each job, listing the person’s name, their job title and a contact number.

Photo Source – microsoft.com

3. Education and qualifications:

This is where you can list your qualifications, from the latest to the oldest, same as your work experience.

You will need to include the name of the institution, what qualifications you’ve achieved, as well as the start and end dates.

Photo Source – microsoft.com

4. Skills:

This is quite an important part of your CV as it gives prospective employers an idea of what your capabilities are and what you are good at. Here you can include both work and personal skills such as HTML coding and email marketing skills, as well as good verbal and written communication skills.

Photo Source – www.freepik.com

5. Double check everything and save it in the correct format:

It’s really important to go over everything again to make sure you didn’t miss anything or make any mistakes. Make sure everything aligns properly and that you’ve adjusted your styling where needed, such as headings.

When you are sure that your CV is correct and complete, you can save the document, create a copy somewhere else, and save it as a PDF as well.

Photo Source – www.pixabay.com

Things to remember:

• Use legible fonts
• Don’t over complicate it
• Check spelling and grammar
• Customise your CV to the different types of jobs you apply for
• Make use of headings to clearly define different areas of your CV
• Use legible font colours and preferably stick to two colours throughout the document
• Keep your font size between 10 and 12, depending on the font you’re using
• Be consistent throughout your CV
• If you choose to have a photo on your CV, make sure it’s a professional one
• Ensure your CV is in a format that prospective employers can open, such as Word or PDF. Try to convert the Word document to a PDF, which will make it easy for the people to search for keywords in your CV.
• Always provide accurate and updated information
• Ask someone to check your CV when you are done

Now that you know everything about creating your own CV, it’s time to get your job hunt off to a good start by registering and uploading your CV on Job Mail. While searching for employment takes hard work and perseverance, there are great opportunities out there, so don’t give up.

Click here to read our blog post about how to create a good cover letter.

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Our how-to guide on creating your own CV

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Creating your own CV can be an easy task with the right guidance. With so many tools and templates out there, you can easily create an eye-catching CV.

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Job Mail Staff Writer

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Job Mail

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