What is the difference between a resume and a CV?

According to Jonathan, the first step is knowing the difference between a CV and a resume and deciding which one we need to present to a candidature. A resume has to have a short form (1-2 pages), and ideally, tailored to the job you’re applying to, while a CV has a longer form, and contains exhaustive details of your entire career and accomplishments. A CV is typically used for academic purposes.

What are the elements of a strong resume?

In order to build a strong resume, you cannot miss the following aspects: • It is extremely important to include a chronological timeline of your past and present responsibilities and accomplishments. • A resume should be well organized and easy to read quickly. • Shows general skills, job-specific skills as well as core competencies. The core competencies are skills that are beneficial regardless of the job, also referred to as “transferable skills”, such as critical thinking/problem-solving, communication (written & oral), teamwork/collaboration, leadership, professionalism/work ethic, global/intercultural fluency, etc. • To summarise, a resume could be described as the “who, what, when, & where”.

Common Mistakes

Finally, it is important that you are aware of the most common mistakes recruiters find in applicants’ resumes. Regarding the document’s format, the most common mistakes are using too many different fonts or font sizes and having inconsistent spacing or alignment, the use of too many colours, presenting an inconsistent chronology, and easily-avoided typos. If we look at the content, the most common mistakes are related to the amount of information (too much information), having a list of weak bullet points or weak descriptions, missing critical details such as work history, education, certifications, contact information, or overuse acronyms the reader may not understand.

*All the information in this article has been extracted from the presentation shared by Jonathan Sandford at the event hosted by BlueHope on the 29th of September 2022.

16 January 2023