Complete How-To Guide

Writing a CV should not be a painful experience. A little preparation can make the process easier.

Step 1: Preparation

Make sure to gather the following information and documents before you start:

• Choose at most three job descriptions that you would like to apply for. You will need to design your CV around each one, ensuring you use the correct keywords and phrases throughout the document.
• List your skills, strengths and unique selling points - this is what will set you apart from your competitors
• List any after-hours activities that are relevant to your job or that teach you skills that make you better at your job.
• Gather all your certificates, diplomas and degrees as well as any old versions of your CV and old job descriptions. You will need to refer back to these documents to make sure all the info on your CV is correct and factual.
• For an extra competitive edge, google CVs in your industry and see what others are doing. Don't ever copy and paste but see if you can improve your language and draw inspiration from other examples.

Step 2: Layout

When planning and creating your layout, keep the following in mind:

• To ensure your CV is ATS (Applicant Tracking System) friendly, it should be written using Microsoft Word.
• It should not be more than 3 pages long.
• Always accompany your CV with a well-written Cover Letter.
• Use keywords and phrases from job ads in your CV to ensure you match the criteria used by the ATS
• Use no more than 2 colours in your CV and use it sparingly - it must be visually appealing but not gaudy
• Do not use a font size smaller than 10 and only use a maximum of 3 fonts - this will ensure your document is easy to read and pleasant to look at
• No spelling or grammar errors
• Do not pad your skills section with unnecessary points and avoid using buzzwords and industry jargon
• Do not use a header - this can confuse the ATS at times

Sections should include the following:

• Personal Information: Your Name and Surname, Town/City of Residence, your telephone number and email address. You can include links to your LinkedIn profile and Job portals here
• Professional Summary: Max 3 paragraphs. Use this section to grab the reader's attention - use the job ad as a guideline here.
• Work History: In reverse chronological order - add a reason for leaving to each job. References should be listed as "available on request"
• Education: List all your qualifications in reverse chronological order
• Computer Proficiency: Include any special equipment proficiency here
• Board Memberships or Charity Work
• Language Proficiency

Step 3: Header

This will be the first thing the recruiter or hiring manager will see, so make sure it is neat, visually appealing and concise.

This section needs to include:

• Your Name and Surname
• Up to 3x Job Titles
• Your Home town or city
• Your preferred contact number and email address

A few pointers:

• Use the title of the job as one of your job titles in the Header section
• To protect your safety and privacy, do not add your full address to your CV. Only state your town and city or region.
• Add links to your career portal profiles to this section. You can request shorter, more concise links from most portals. This will look more professional.
• Create a new professional email address on Gmail and use this mailbox exclusively for job hunting. Not only will it look more professional on your CV, but it will help keep all your job-hunting emails and information in one place
• To make your CV more ATS-friendly, create your own Header section in the body of the Word doc. Do not use the Header/Footer function

Step 4: Professional Summary

This section is probably the most important section of your CV. It will determine whether or not you will be seriously considered for the job, or rejected.

It serves as an introduction and short description of your best experience, achievements and qualities, so make it count!

It should be written in well-structured sentences using correct English with no spelling mistakes - max 3 paragraphs.

In this section, you should include:

• Your professional title
• Total years of experience
• Highlight important experience and achievements
• Top 3 skills
• Your willingness to relocate and availability

Step 5: Skills Section

By creating a dedicated skills section, you bring the recruiter/hiring manager's attention directly to what you are able to do. This gives them a quick, concise look at your capability and what you can bring to the company.

This section should contain soft as well as hard skills.

Soft skills:These are personal qualities and characteristics that affect how you do your job like Teamwork, Problem-solving, Time management, Motivation, Adaptability, etc.

Hard skills: These are more concrete skills and include skills that are needed for the job, for example, HTML - Intermediate, Siemens S6 PLC Knowledge, 80 words per minute typing speed, etc.

Pro Tip: Use the description from the job ad to help you determine which skills should be included in this section.

Step 6: Employment History

This section will focus on your work history. It should be written in reverse chronological order.

This section has the potential to take up a large amount of space - especially if you have a lot of experience. You want to ensure that all relevant info is included in this section while remaining brief and to the point.

To reduce the amount of info you can do the following:

• Keep sentences short and to the point. Do not use too many adjectives.
• Only list duties and responsibilities for the three most recent positions
• To save space, don't include references, but include one line at the end of the section saying "References are available on request"

What to include:

• Job Title
• Start and End Dates including months, for example - January 2005 - July 2009
• The full name of the company
• Suburb and City in which the offices are located
• Duties and Responsibilities
• Achievements and Awards

Step 7: Education

Simply list all your qualifications with the most recent one first. Only list basic details - do not add a list of subjects and marks. This information is available in your supporting documents which the recruiter or hiring manager will ask for later in the application process.

Side Note: DO NOT send scans of all your certificates with your first email. Only send your CV and Cover Letter.

Information to include:

• Name of your qualification, for example, Grade 12 or BCom Accounting
• The year of completion. If you are currently studying, add the year that you expect to have completed your studies
• The name of the school or university for example Springs High School or University of Johannesburg

Step 8: Additional Sections

If you have information to include under the following, feel free to add these sections to your CV:

• Additional Certification
• Professional Associations
• Computer Proficiency incl. level of proficiency
• Languages incl. your level of proficiency
• Extra training and courses
• Conferences
• Publications
• Awards

Step 9: Final Checks

Not only does your CV need to be well structured and well written, but it must also be error-free.

Work through the following list to make sure your CV is perfect and ready to send out:

• Proofread your CV at least 3 times before sending it out
• Do a spelling and grammar check
• Make sure your telephone number and email address are correct on your CV
• Double-check all links to make sure they are functional and go to the right page
• Look at the structure of the document and make sure your spacing and layout are correct

Some extra advice to help you along the way:

• The look of your CV is not as important as the information contained in it. Focus on your writing, make sure it makes sense and forget about creating elaborate templates with pictures, fancy bullet points and fonts.
• Tailor your CV as closely as possible to the position - use the exact keywords they use in the job description or job ad.
• Stick to 2 pages as much as possible - only if absolutely necessary, should you add a 3rd page.
• Focus on achievements, not responsibilities
• Do not lie on your CV
• Ask a friend or family member to proof-read your CV for you as an extra precaution

Thank you for working through this series/guide!

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