Candidates – Some advice
A Winning CV: Stand Out From The Crowd
Distinguishing yourself from other candidates is often important
The best profile to get you hired
The rules for writing a good CV are well known. You are unfortunately not the only one on the job market: You must show that you are different from the others!
Even if you’ve written a CV that is clear and spaced out, and you have avoided some of the most common mistakes that is not enough. You also have to know how to distinguish your CV from others so that you stand out of the crowd of several and usually similar experiences shared by many people at the start of their careers.
Highlight your most outstanding experiences
When one is young, what makes a CV interesting and adds a distinctive touch is not the small job you had at a bakery at some point in time. It is rather an experience in leadership: if you headed an association, or worked for a humanitarian organisation, or you organised a student event, or you were editor in chief of a student magazine, you can absolutely add that! The CVs received by an employer all look alike; sometimes a strong connection with an association (or the practise of an unusual sport or activity where you’ve excelled) enables you to attract attention and stand out.
In your “hobbies” or “other” section avoid banalities such reading, or travelling.
Be more detailed in your literature or authors preferences, and the countries or regions that you have travelled to. Avoid platitudes and sort your references.
Be honest about languages
Concerning languages, try at all costs to avoid the common trend of exaggerating one’s linguistic skills. Do not write “bilingual” unless you speak French or Spanish like a native resident of Paris or Madrid. Do not write “fluent German” unless you are completely at ease with the language. If possible, use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), from A1 to C2, which will allow you to use a reference that is already widely used in Europe. If you have stayed in one country or another for a relatively long time, you can absolutely include that, as well as tests that you have passed like the TOEFL or the TOEIC, with the exact scores you obtained.
Take note of this
Do not forget to mention your willingness to relocate, as that has become a necessity for most roles.
Remember to include a title for your CV that will allow the reader to identify you at first glance: “Junior Financial Analyst”, or “Marketing Manager”, etc. The title used will depend more or less on the role you are applying for, but don’t repeat exactly what is on the job description, or it will look like a copy and paste job. Be subtle. And of course avoid using “Curriculum Vitae” as the title of your CV. Your prospective employer knows what he has in his hands or what he is seeing on the computer screen! This unnecessary addition has already killed several beginner CVs, yet it continues to appear.
Finally, avoid the common mistake of naming your CV file “CV.doc”. The name of the file has to include your name and surname as well as the year. An employer (and even more so, a recruitment agency) receives millions of CVs; do not force them to do extra searches for your CV. Facilitate the task of sorting or storing your CV.
With a CV that is neatly presented, that avoids the most common errors and puts forth your most important experiences, skills and strengths, increases your chances of being contacted for interviews when you are applying for roles that “fit your profile”. Good Luck!