At Sharp & Carter we have seen many trends come and go in the world of resume's. For a while we saw very basic, black and white CV'S making the rounds. That turned into the next trend of CV's that were full of colours and designs.
But what really works? What do hiring managers want to see when picking up a CV? Well, who better than to go to the source. We asked our hiring managers for their top tips on how to write and design the best CV for you.
1: Keep your resume as concise as possible:
Hiring managers don't like to see resume’s that are too wordy or have too many colours/designs. They want to open a resume with defined areas, clear information, and concise sentences.
2: List previous workplaces:
When listing previous companies you worked for, add in a 1-2 sentence spiel about the company and your role within it. This helps hiring managers to better find out if your day-to-day tasks would be a fit for their role.
3: Add your achievements:
Add in any achievements made within the company. For example, if you cut costs in a certain area of the company or changed a system from manual to digital.
4: Formatting is priority:
Make sure all dates are in chronological order, words are spaced out and spelling/grammar is perfect.
5: Tailor your resume to the job:
Make it easy for the hiring manager to see if you would be a good fit for the role they are hiring. For example, if the job is calling for a receptionist, tailor your achievements, strengths and any IT programs that you are confident with within a receptionist role.
An extra tip: The Cover letter down low:
Keep cover letters to one page and brief if a cover letter is required. Otherwise, if not required, recruiters advise to not include one.
To help you on your resume writing journey, here is a link to our Candidate Handbook that details a resume template and more handy hints from hiring managers.
