The recipe for a perfect CV

Possibly the most important piece of text you will write is your CV. In a CV, you are pitching yourself. Learn the dos and don’ts of writing a perfect CV.

Is my CV really that important?

Employers want to avoid being deluged by applications every time they have a job opening, so they save the CVs of the candidates they like, even when they give the nod to someone else for that particular job. The next time a job opening comes up, HR reviews the file of previously received CVs first. So your CV should jump out. That puts you right back in the race every time there’s a job opening. Of course, it’s always important to have a good CV.

Two pages is enough

Do you like reading long documents? Of course not – nobody does. Especially not recruiters. They screen CVs the way you browse Instagram. Two pages is long enough. Thirty seconds should be long enough to make an impression with your elevator pitch; your CV should be able to stand out in the same amount of time. Be brief and to the point. Start with what you think the employer will value the most. So start with the strongest work experience and education. Only then start describing your school experience, in reverse chronological order. Limit your CV to:

• name, address and birth date

• programmes studied

• diplomas

• internship and work experience, as well as other relevant experience

• language skills

• four to six competences

• personal profile

Wanted: new graduates with work experience

You know how it works. Employers are really looking for that mythical creature: someone who’s just graduated, but also has work experience. Are you sure that’s not you? Think hard:

• If you have relevant internship experience, say it! You can even mention relevant projects or assignments that you did during your study programme.

• Are you on the programme committee? Maybe the Central Participation Council? That’s relevant experience. Show your commitment.

• Have you participated in a student company? That counts too.

• Are you active on the board of the student council? Add it to your CV!

• Make sure to emphasize the work experience that matches the requested competences. Always think about how relevant any information is for the job. If you’ve coached a youth football team and you’re applying for a management position, that’s an interesting aspect. However, they’re probably not interested in knowing about your passion for rock-climbing!

Whatever you do, don’t:

• make any typos or spelling errors.

• leave any gaps in your timeline, since they raise questions. If you changed programmes or schools, give an honest account of what you did in the meantime.

• use colours and illustrations that can make you stand out if you’re applying to a creative employer, but will be frowned upon at the tax office.

• post any overly frivolous photos on your public Facebook profile.

• use an attention-grabbing e-mail address. Do you really think hot_ mess@... would make the right impression?

Handy sites

The year’s best CVs are available on sollicitatielab.nl You can see there that there are many different approaches that work. www.stepstone.nl is one of the sites you can visit if you want to know how to make a video CV.