You only have between 5-10 seconds at the most to impress and be short-listed. In those 5-10 seconds, it is not necessarily the most qualified person who will be put in the shortlist pile, but it is the one who is the best at being able to get noticed by his or her CV. This requires a combination of good content and attractive appearance.

It is an established fact that recruiters look for any reason to dismiss CVs as the first stage of processing the hundreds of CVs they often receive. If a CV does not impress at first glance, it's going to get trashed.

• Any CV or resume which is longer than 4 pages will be trashed. This is generally the case, unless the employer requires a detailed career history. But most CVs are no longer than three pages, and as for resumes they should be shorter. So the recruitment manager will not be bothered reading anything over 4 pages.
• Any CV or resume that does not have a profile, or objective or similar paragraph and an easy discernible list of skills on the front page will get trashed. The recruitment manager does not want to start scanning your CV or resume to see if he can find where your skills and achievements are, or what you are qualified to do.
• Any CV or resume which is ‘annoying'. This is mainly due to bad formatting. Things such as using many different fonts and font sizes, cluttering the information with little white space, making it harder to read. Also the use of excessive underlining, bold and italics, in combination. All of these matters make the CV or resume difficult to read and follow.

It is vital to not only grab attention with an attractive and eye-catching format, but also to please and satisfy the employer by providing appropriately written content that is targeted to the job.

Common Problems in CV Writing

These are common to many people:

• They do not have the technical knowledge to create visually attractive CV.
• They do not know how to write in a style that is most suited to CV documents
• They always use the most boring, run of the mill sentences that EVERYBODY else uses "duties included...", "was responsible for...", "tasks involved..."
• They don't know what an "achievement statement" is - if the CV does not contain groups of these statements, say goodbye to the job because the competition will knock you out stone cold
• They don't know the purpose of profiles and objectives
• They confuse between profiles and objectives and career summaries and don't know what to put where
• They don't realise that putting job titles (instead of skill headings) - something that 98% of jobseekers do - can severely damage their chances of success
• They are stuck for content! - In other words putting meaningful and appropriate material into the CV that is of direct interest to the employer

• They don't appreciate the significance of the covering letter and how it can be used to an extremely great advantage

Structure for Your CV

Objective

What do you want to do? If you include this section it should be a sentence or two about your employment goals. A customised objective that describes why you are the perfect candidate for the job can help your CV stand out from the competition.

Career Highlights / Qualifications - Your Profile

A customized section of your CV that lists key achievements, skills, traits, and experience relevant to the position for which you are applying can serve dual purposes. It highlights your relevant experience and lets the prospective employer know that you have taken the time to create a CV that shows how you are qualified for the job.

Experience

This section of your CV includes your work history. List the companies you worked for, dates of employment, the positions you held and a bulleted list of responsibilities and achievements.

Education

In the education section of your CV, list the colleges you attended, the degrees you attained, and any special awards and honors you earned.

References available upon request

There is no need to include references on your CV. Rather, have a separate list of references to give to employers upon request.

Remember - Be bold - be proud of who you are and what you can do.   Never let anyone tell you that you cannot be or do anything you dream to be.  It is normal for many people to under-estimate themselves and to ignore their greatest qualities. If this is you, seek some input from a positive friend to help you see your strengths and potential.