Need Help Writing Your CV? Here's How To Use Free CV Templates

The Pros and Cons of Free CV Templates

While the content of a CV is expected at all times to be based on the job-seeker's own qualifications, achievements and experiences, the same uniqueness cannot always be observed of the format. Thanks to the Internet, one simple click can direct you to different pre-formatted CVs, which can be chosen from, downloaded for free and customized for personal use. These free CV templates serve as a straightforward guide to help jobseekers with no previous work experience come up with their own; however, such samples can quickly become overused.

Before relying entirely on a template to write your own CV, you might want to take a look at the pros and cons of using free CV samples

Advantages of CV Examples

1. If you happen to be a fresh graduate or a job seeker with no previous work experience, building a presentable CV can be quite an intimidating task. CV templates on the Internet take the pressure off by providing a guide and a selection of different styles to choose from. Furthermore, they save time and effort, proving to be incredibly convenient tools for job-seeking novices.

2. Templates make it easier for you to determine two types of information: those that need to be listed down on your CV, and those that can be eliminated. Pre-arranged formats already supply you with an information-centric layout, which can easily be filled out. In addition, you can be assured that despite potentially lacking a bit of flair, templates are mostly streamlined and very professional looking.

Disadvantages of CV Examples

1. Your curriculum vitae, along with your cover letter, will affect recruiters' first impression of your professional self. Should you decide to resort to using a downloadable template, keep in mind that CV samples are intended for mass consumption, and that their commonness, convenience and availability on the Internet make them over-used, which can potentially narrow your chances of standing out from a long list of applicants.

2. For job-hunters with past job experiences, templates are supposed to serve as mere guidelines. Such individuals should refer to CV templates only to be able to decide what kind of layout or format to follow, how to list qualifications and achievements, what font(s) to use, how to eliminate white space, and so on. However, due to the reliability of such samples, many choose to do away with the task of writing their own and directly use the templates instead. This makes them complacent and lazy.

A potential employee's originality may not be the top priority on every recruiter's list, but remember that it is important to make a good first impression by standing out. This can be achieved by creating a CV that mirrors your professionalism and ingenuity. Aside from dazzling your future boss with witty and enthusiastic answers during the job interview, make sure that your CV reflects an individual who pays attention to detail, puts a great deal of effort into his or her work, and is creative and hardworking.

For more tips on how to write a CV resume and preparing for an interview, visit our site by just clicking on the link. For you to get started we have provided free CV templates and professional CV examples which can be downloaded and edited. So visit us and get some great ideas on presenting a winning CV.

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Resume Secret: Tailor Your Resume Twice! Here's Why

Tailoring your resume is very important in your job search, but you need to remember to tailor each and every resume you send to potential employers. What is tailoring your resume? You want to be sure to use specific information from the online job description and update your resume with applicable words and acronyms from the description. Use only words and terms that fit your current skill-set and that you can back up with experience. To get ahead of the competition, you should tailor your resume for each and every job you apply to for employment.

Once you get a call to schedule your interview (and you will), I suggest asking the recruiter or HRM for a detailed job description (it will probably be little different than the online version you first tailored your resume with) and use this new, specific job information to update your resume...again. Yes, update your resume a second time for the position you are about to interview for, then ask the recruiter or HRM to use your new, even stronger worded, resume for the interview! This extra step will have your resume look hot and stand out from the competition even more! Have the recruiter or HRM submit this new and improved resume to the hiring managers. They will review this version of your resume and notice how well it stands out and you'll be remembered. This key step in your job search will definitely put you two steps ahead of the competition! I don't know many people, if any, who has used this resume writing secret! Getting a job takes a lot more time and energy on your part than it did just a few years ago. Are you willing to go the extra mile to get hired? Enjoy this resume writing secret and let me know if it works for you!

Here is quick checklist for you to use:

1. Find an online job and job description you want to apply for.
2. Use key terms from this job description in your resume.
3. Apply for the job.
4. Schedule your interview and ask if the HRM or recruiter has a better, more detailed, version of the job description.
5. Use this new, more detailed job description, to tailor your resume a second time.
6. Re-submit your newest resume version to the HRM or recruiter for the hiring managers to use in your interview.
7. Be sure to take 5 copies of this version of your resume to the interview. You never know who may drop in to talk with you and you don't want to leave them empy handed.

Using this resume secret in your job search will take time and extra effort on your job hunt. But it will definitely pay off!

Ben Rivera, using his 10+ years of job hunting experience, blogs about resume writing techniques and tips at http://www.fourhourresume.com/ and enjoys writing professional, tailored resumes for active job seekers. Good Luck!

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Here's What an Employer Really Seeking in Your Resume

Nowadays, it is commonly seen that most job seekers out there are writing their resumes having only one thing in their mind, and that is they. For this reason, many of times they toot their own horn very loud, loud enough to blow the interviewer get blown away by the sound. Of course, the approach of "I did this" and "I achieved that" is important to follow while writing your resume, as this approach will grab the attention of your potential employers. Almost all the hiring managers are keen to know what you have accomplished in your previous line of work, as well as of how you can prove to be beneficial for his or her company in the new position that you are seeking.

How to read between the lines?

However, the hiring managers are also looking for some spontaneous abilities which a potential employee can express on the job. They do not want the job seekers to spell out every single detail out to them. This is because, it gives an impression to your potential employers that you do not have the ability to anticipate and sense the problems and challenges, as well as the ability to meet these challenges instinctively.

For instance, you might be hoping to get hired as an assistant to the president of a financial corporation. For this job position, hiring managers are looking for someone who have computer skills, an ability to organize corporate date, a capability of keeping the filing system up-to-date, and someone who is ready to field phone calls and e-mails for the executive without being told to do so. You should be able to showcase all of that in your resume to get your hands on the job of your dreams.

Know what is beyond the job description:

The skills that you write should also be able to look good on the paper. However, if you want your resume to move on top of the pile, you should be including a few sentences more to describe the things that you can do other than what appears in the description of the job. For instance, you can state sentences such as those described below:

? Have the ability to chair a meeting including the corporate executives in case the president is unexpectedly detained or is called away on emergency business.

? Having the ability to trouble-shoot with customers on the phone which allows keeping the president free of time consuming entanglements.

? Have the ability to stimulate required communication between the employees present in other departments and then reporting the findings back to the president.

In most cases, the hiring managers are not looking for someone who only meets the requirements of the job position, as they are described in the job descriptions. On the contrary, the hiring managers are more interested in employee who is not only meeting the requirements of the job, but also goes beyond them by delivering practical help as well as heartfelt support which is required intuition and attentiveness.

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Is Your Resume Working Hard Enough? And If Not, Here's How to Fix It!

Continuing the series of putting your job search through the scrutiny of a performance review, let's talk about resumes.

I look at resumes all the time, either from jobseekers like you looking for help, or for the occasional small business recruiting gigs I do. I also have 15+ years of experience of hiring people to work for me in various positions throughout my career. And the one thing that held true then, and now.

As an employer all I care about is: What's on your resume that I need?

That's it. I don't know that you've left off parts of your experience, I don't know that your last job was really more about accounting than marketing-but you're applying for a marketing job so you're emphasizing your marketing background. All I ask is, how does the person on this piece of paper fit with what I need?

How do you know what I need? Well, I told you in the job description.

And who am I going to decide to call? The people who impress me the most with the changes they made at their last company, the examples of taking initiative to find better ways of doing things, and the ways that they improved their last company.

Who am I going to be interested in, but may or may not call? People who look like they did the same job at another company, but it doesn't look like they really made an impact.

Why won't I call them? Well, they'll go in my maybe pile, but if they're trumped by other people who made more of an impact-I'll be more excited to call them, and might get to you later. Could there be a great person hiding behind a poorly written or formatted resume? Yes-and as an employer this was always my nagging concern.

As an employer, will my job requirements change as I look at more resumes and whittle down the competition? Yes. If I mention that something is preferred in the ad, as I'm culling through the people to call I might make it a requirement just to make the pile more manageable.

Will I still call people who show that they've made an impact? Yes. But if their resume is in a gray area where they don't have that preferred skill, and their contributions are non-existent, then I'm gonna pass.

So what should you look for in the performance review of your resume? Does it include a mix of job description, and clearly, obviously labeled accomplishments? (i.e., do you have a section under each position labeled-Accomplishments?) Have you made it user-friendly by putting the needs of the employer first, rather than your own preferences or what makes sense to you?

Have you taken time to look for other resume formats that might tell your story better? A book I love is The Gallery of Best Resumes. There's some in there that are great and some that aren't-but you'll learn a lot and see that there's many options. For the ones you like, why do they work for you? Does it more clearly tell the person's story? Is it eye-catching without being obnoxious? How is the writing? You should not have blocks of text longer than 2 ? lines if it can be at all avoided? Why? Because it's more difficult to visually scan to get an overall impression of who you are. Employers don't READ resumes, your resume isn't the latest Tom Clancy novel. Is there enough white space between the bullets and around them to make it easy to read?

Really analyze what you like and what you don't in the resumes you see, versus "that looks nice."-and consider if you'd give that person a call based on that piece of paper.

Need help figuring out how to discuss those accomplishments on your resume? Give me a call-you may not need a complete overhaul, but we can work together on an hourly basis to concisely include the fantastic things you've done at your previous employer.

Melanie Szlucha has been a hiring manager for over 15 years and a career coach for over 4 through her company Red Inc. She writes resumes, coaches clients for job interviews, and works with them to strategize networking opportunities and job search tactics.

She offers a packet of FREE job search articles--worth over $100, through her website: http://www.reallygreatresume.com/.

Following her on Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/Red_Inc ) gives you one great job search tip per day for FREE!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melanie_Szlucha

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Here's the Important Stuff to Writing a Resume

Take out the objective. Your objective is always to get a job. Employers "get that" when they receive your resume. Also, they don't really care what your objective is. Their objective is to hire someone who is qualified to do the job they need to fill. The sooner you cut to the chase about why you're the perfect person for them, the better.

Put in a career summary. Think of this as the 'tell me about yourself" section, but in writing. This summary should describe what makes you unique from every other person who has a similar background as you. I will admit, these are the hardest to write, and are usually the last thing to write. Sometimes I'll even come back to it the next day after I've had a chance to let the client's background percolate in my head a bit. Do NOT use vague terms like "good time management skills" or "works well under pressure" or my all time fave: "team player." YUCK! First, everyone puts those in their resume, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone-I've seen a lot of resumes. Second, there are very few people who would not use those terms to describe themselves. For the most part, everyone's had to manage their time, finish something under a deadline or work with others. For the most part, they probably did it well. What you SHOULD talk about is what you do exceptionally well. Think back to the people you work with, and how would you distinguish your skillsets from theirs? I have described a marketing manager as tenacious because when I was interviewing her to complete her resume and I heard her describe how she worked, that was the impression I got-she was like a dog with a bone and didn't give up until her project succeeded; and succeed it always did. She was also used to working with no marketing budget and still raising revenue. In this economy-that's an incredible skill to have. What makes you stand out from the crowd?

List your jobs. For most people, there isn't a need for a functional resume (one that highlights skillsets rather than job listings). They drive recruiters and some HR Directors crazy. You might want to have one in your back pocket in case someone prefers to see it, but for the most part this can be accomplished by highlighting your skills as subheadings under the standard company, title, date banner. There is a long-standing debate about including months and years on a resume vs. just months. In most cases, you should include months on your resume to show continuous employment. Hiring managers/HR Directors understand if you were laid off from a job and it took you up to a year to find another job, especially factoring in your specific industry and location in the country. If you took classes during that time or did volunteer work-include it on the resume to show that you didn't just lay in bed eating bon-bons all day.

If you purposefully took a break, either due to medical reasons or family reasons, you should indicate that in your resume and cover letter. The important point to get across is that the situation is complete. That if it was a family or a medical condition, that you're fully recovered and ready for work, that there's no chance of it interfering with your work situation to the same extent that required you to take a break. You can simply list on the resume Family Commitments, and the date. In the cover letter you can go into a little more detail about if it was personal surgery and recovery time, or taking care of a family member. Whatever it is, make sure you close the loop and state that the situation is completely under control and will in no way interfere with your ability to do your job. It's better to call it out, than leave it up to the imagination of the hiring manager. You won't like what they imagine.

Under your jobs, list your education. The only reason you'd put your education at the top is if you recently graduated from college or if you went back to school for a degree and you're looking for your first job since receiving that degree. If you're going for your first job out of school-it's appropriate to list your GPA in your major and your GPA overall if they're both good. Ideally, your GPA in your major is your biggest selling point. If your overall GPA isn't strong (and by strong I mean over a 3.0) leave it off. It's also appropriate to list relevant coursework on the resume-again, especially if you're a recent grad or if you went back to school for something that you don't have work experience in.

As an aside. You should ALWAYS take every opportunity to gain relevant work experience while you're in school. I don't care if it's as a volunteer with an organization, an internship, a co-op assignment, part time job. Anything. Take it. You're much less of a gamble as a new hire if you have some work experience to hang your hat on.

Melanie Szlucha has been a hiring manager for over 15 years and a career coach for over 4 through her company Red Inc. She writes resumes, coaches clients for job interviews, and works with them to strategize networking opportunities and job search tactics.

She offers a packet of FREE job search articles--worth over $100, through her website: http://www.reallygreatresume.com/.

Following her on Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/Red_Inc ) gives you one great job search tip per day for FREE!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melanie_Szlucha

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