Four important tips to get your CV noticed

With South Africa's unemployment rate sitting at a depressing 26,6%, thousands of people are in search of a job.

Recruiters receives dozens, if not hundreds, of CVs daily,  and most have mastered the art of a quick three to five-second assessment in search of important key words. 

They can tell a lot just by looking at your resume, and use their skills to quickly sort out the good from the bad. 

Every single detail of your CV will be scrutinised once you make the cut, but you need to first make it pass the five-second glance. 

Here are four things you can do to make sure your curriculum vitae gets noticed:

Get rid of your objective section 

Most people add an objective paragraph at the top of their CVs, but this is a complete waste of space, and a recruiter's time. They have read it all, and another "I am a hard working individual" sentence in your objective is likely to earn a few eye-rolls. But a personal mission statement can help if you highlight how your education or experience relates to the job you are applying for. But if you are just going to talk about how hardworking and loyal you are, then it is best to leave it out. 

List your skills on page one

Your experience and skills are probably two of the most important things on your CV, and will save your resume from getting trashed prematurely. But while some people have lots of experience, others might just be starting off in their careers. This is where your skills come in. List them high up on your CV, and make sure you include ones that will be beneficial to the job you are applying for. Thoroughly research the position and the company to make sure you are on the right track. Don't lie about your skills to make yourself more suitable for the job. 

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Keep it simple

Many people think adding fancy fonts, colours, and pictures to their CV will make them more appealing, but they do the opposite. Flashy resumes can look unprofessional. Unless you are applying for a position that requires you to be creative, keep your CV clean and simple. Fonts like Times New Roman and Arial are usually preferred. Keep your format simple and neat. But simple doesn't have to mean boring. You can add bullet points, and underline headings for easy reading, and visual appeal. 

Cut out unnecessary information 

A lot of people are tempted to add every single detail of their work experience in their CVs. Don't go over two pages, as no-one has time to read a novel about your career when there are scores of other CVs waiting. Cut out any information that is not beneficial to the job you are applying for. Do you really need to list Microsoft Word as a skill? That's pretty much expected for just about every office job. What about your marital status, passport number, religion, and age? Does the recruiter really need to know these things? 

And lastly, you should always read over your CV to ensure it is free of any grammar and spelling errors. ALWAYS!

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