Simple Tips for Preparing A CV / Resume / Bio Data

The effort you put into your job search may go wasted if you do not have a well prepared and smartly structured CV to back your efforts.

Your CV is your very first interview and must be drafted well if you want to be taken seriously and stand out among the other candidates.

Look & Feel of the CV

Considering the fact that a large number of candidates have applied for the same position, your only chance to stand out from among them is with the help of your impressive resume. Your CV should look professional and well formatted.

• Use a good quality, thick and crisp white coloured paper.
• Stay away from using coloured paper with borders etc as these look very amateurish.
• Be consistent with your fonts through out your CV. Times New Roman and Verdana are good choices.
• For a professional looking CV, type it on the computer and take a print out. Hand written resumes are not only difficult to read, they lack a professional touch. Hence, printed resumes are the best option.

Ideal Length of a CV

Today, everyone is pressed for time and in such a situation of severe shortage of time, you must make it easy for the interviewer to go through your resume quickly and make conclusions that go in your favour. The ideal length of a CV is one page and in some cases, it can be stretched to two but not more. Refrain from preparing a 8-10 page CV as this will eventually go to the dustbin and not taken seriously.

Make your resume short, concise and impressive. Less is definitely more in this case!

Contents of a CV

The following information & sub heads are generally included in a resume -

1. Name
2. Address
3. Email ID
4. Telephone Numbers
5. Marital Status
6. Date of Birth / Age
7. Educational Qualifications - degrees, diplomas etc
8. Work Experience - you can also include valuable part time / temporary work experience that can contribute to your overall work chart.
9. Additional Skills - Languages known, computer knowledge, etc
10. Interests & Hobbies - mention your interests in short. If any of your interest fall in line with your employment, definitely mention it.
11. Mentions your salary requirements only if it is specifically asked for in the job advertisement.
12. References - Here you are expected to mention names of a few of those people who can be contacted for a reference check. These can include your former employers etc. In case you are a fresher and haven't worked before, you can mention names of your college lecturers and professors.

Make sure to keep your references informed and update d with what you are doing presently, which position you are applying for etc. Send them a latest copy of your resume for their reference.

Whatever, you do , make sure to be truthful while preparing your CV. Never lie in your CV and always provide facts. Remember that lies will eventually be spotted if you make it to the interview stage.