How To Write An Impactful CV In 2024?

The job market in 2024 will be more competitive than ever. Job hunting can be stressful, but having a standout CV can make all the difference. Your CV will be your first impression, and you want it to be great.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Here you can find simple steps to make the process of CV writing easy and successful. Your CV should list your achievements and reflect who you are. So, let’s break it down step-by-step and write an impactful CV in 2024.

Let’s get started and make your job search a success!

What Are the Best Tips for Writing a Resume?

Here, we’ll discuss the best tips and tricks to create a resume that truly stands out. Whether applying for your first job or aiming for a career gap, these tips will help you create a CV that catches employers’ eyes.

Here are some top tips to help you create a CV that will get you noticed!

Header: Include your name, mobile number, email address, and LinkedIn profile. Your email address must be professional.
Summary: Give an engaging summary in 2-3 sentences, highlight your key skills, experiences, and what you’re looking for in your next role.
Skills: Create a skill section highlighting hard and soft skills relevant to the job. Highlight the skills that are most relevant to the job description.
Work Experience: List your work experience in reverse order. For each job, include your title, company name, dates of employment, and bullet points highlighting your key achievements and responsibilities.
Education: List your educational background, starting with your most recent degree. Include the school name, degree, and graduation date. If you’ve taken any relevant courses or certifications, add those too.
Awards and Recognitions: If you’ve received any awards or recognitions, include them. This can include academic achievements, professional awards, or other recognitions.
Additional Information: If you have certifications or have completed professional training, include a section to add these. You can also include a section for interests, hobbies, and languages.
Keywords: Now, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) will screen resumes. Use keywords from the job description to ensure your CV gets through the ATS and into the hands of a recruiter.
Cover letter: Add a well-crafted cover letter to your job application.
Proofread and Keep It Professional: Typing and grammar errors can leave a bad impression. So read the CV multiple times, edit it, and make it error-free. Start by creating a free resume template that fits your style. Choose a simple format for your CV. Use a readable and professional font and keep formatting consistent. Your CV should be easy to read and visually appealing. Keep your resume concise. For most people, one page is enough, but if you have a lot of relevant experience, two pages are acceptable.

What are the best formats for a resume?

Choosing the right format is very important for CV writing. It can make a big difference in how employers view your resume.

Here are the three most popular resume formats: Find the best one for you!

1. Chronological Resume

This is also known as the reverse-chronological format. This is the most common and widely accepted format. It’s perfect if you have a strong work history that you want to highlight. This format is best for people with a strong work history and relevant experience in the field they’re applying for.

Here you can list your work experience, starting with your most recent job and working backwards. It shows a clear timeline of your work history, making it easy for employers to see your career progression and growth.

Employers can easily follow and quickly scan your resume to see where you’ve worked and what you’ve done. Many recruiters prefer this format because it’s familiar and straightforward.

Structure of a Chronological Resume

Header
Summary
Work Experience
Skills
Education
Additional information

**Sample Resume Format for Chronological Resume**

2. Functional Resume

This functional resume focuses on your skills and experience. It’s perfect if you’re switching careers or have gaps in your work history. This format highlights specific skills and accomplishments relevant to the job you’re applying for.

The heart of a functional resume is the skills section. You can group your skills into categories (like “Leadership,” “Technical Skills,” and “Communication”), and under each category, list bullet points that describe your accomplishments related to that skill.

After the skills section, you include a brief work history at the end of your resume. This typically lists your job titles, company names, and employment dates without detailing job duties.

Structure of a Functional Resume

Header
Summary
Skills
Experience
Education
Additional information

Sample Resume Format for Functional Resume

3. Combination (Hybrid)Resume

The Combination Resume blends features from both the chronological and functional formats. This format focuses on both your relevant skills and experience. If you have strong skills and a solid work history, this resume will perfectly fit you.

Structure of a Combination Resume

Header
Summary
Skills
Work Experience
Education
Additional information

Sample Resume Format for Combination Resume

Picking the right resume format helps you showcase your experience and skills effectively. Whether you choose chronological, functional, or combination, the goal is to highlight your strengths and make it easy for employers to see why you’re a great fit for the job.

What is an ATS- Friendly Resume?

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about ATS software lately—it’s becoming a hot topic in the world of job hunting. But what exactly is it, and why should you care?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. Many employers use this software tool to sort through the large number of resumes they receive. To get noticed, your resume needs to pass through the ATS.

Let’s check how you can make sure your resume gets past the software and into a recruiter’s hands.

How to Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly?

ATS scans your resume for specific keywords, formats, and information. If your resume isn’t optimized for this, it could get filtered out, even if you’re a perfect fit for the job. But don’t worry—making your resume ATS-friendly isn’t hard!

Here are the 5 Easy Tips To Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly

Use a Simple Resume Format: Use simple fonts and avoid using tables, graphics, tables, columns, text boxes, or unusual layouts. These can confuse the ATS. The best fonts for ATS-friendly CV are Arial, Calibri, Verdana, Cambria, Helvetica, Georgia, Times New Roman, etc. Always keep your resume simple, direct, and clear.
Use Relevant Keywords: Carefully read the job description, pick out the keywords related to skills, experience, and qualifications, and include these exact phrases in your resume. Always remember to use keywords naturally; don’t overstuff them. For example, if the job asks for “business development,” make sure that term is included in your resume.
Choose the Right File Type: Save your resume as a Word document (.doc or.docx) or as a plain-text (.txt) file, depending on what the job application specifies. These file types are the most commonly used, and many ATS systems prefer them. Some ATS systems are unable to read PDFs. But now, most modern ATS systems also prefer PDF files.
Use Section Headings Correctly: Use common headings like “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” This helps the ATS easily identify and sort your information.
Avoid Headers and Footers: Avoid headers and footers, and keep all your important information in the document’s main body. ATS does not read headers and footers.

How Do I Find A Best Resume Writing Service?

A strong resume is key to standing out in today’s competitive job market. However, with resume trends always changing—from new formats to keywords—it can be challenging to stay updated.

With numerous resume-writing services available, how do you choose the right one? Not every service will highlight what makes you unique, so it’s important to choose wisely. You’ll need to do some research to find one that truly gets your skills and experience and knows how to highlight them.

This blog will help you choose a resume-writing service highlighting your strengths and making you stand out. Consider the following things to find the best resume-writing service:

Research: Before you start searching for a resume-writing service, think about what you need for your resume. That will help you narrow down the choices and find a service that specializes in what you’re looking for. Look for resume-writing services with good reviews and testimonials. Also, check for their reputation and experience. A good resume-writing service should have a track record of success. Check their websites to see if they have samples of their work. A service with a solid reputation and strong examples is a good sign that they know their work.
Check Their Process: Learn about how their service works. Check out the nature of their consultation with the clients, the number of revisions they are included in the package, the expected delivery time, etc. A good consultation helps the writer understand your background, career goals, and the type of job you’re targeting. Direct communication with the writer will clarify your doubts. A good service will offer multiple rounds of revisions to ensure your resume is perfect. Also, check out how long it will take to receive your completed resume. It’s very important to find a service that optimizes resumes for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Consider the Rates: Resume writing services have different price points. Quality is always important. So don’t go for the cheapest option. Look for a service that offers good value for your money. Compare a few different services to see what you get for your money. This will help you identify which service offers the best combination of quality and price. Compare the prices in each package and find one that offers good value for your money.

10 popular resume writing services in India

Write Right(https://www.write-right.in/)
Excel CV(https://www.excelcv.com/)
Avon Resumes(https://www.avonresumes.com/)
Kalam Kagaz(https://www.kalamkagaz.com/)
Taletel(https://taletel.com/)
Get Set Resumes (https://www.getsetresumes.com/)
CV Designer(https://www.cvdesigner.in/)
Mentorrd (https://www.mentorrd.com/)
Book Your CV (https://www.bookyourcv.com/)
Make My Resume (https://makemyresume.co.in/)

What Are The Most Common Mistakes Made On Resumes?

Your resume makes your first impression on employers. But sometimes mistakes can make a big difference. So it’s important to get it right.

Don’t worry. By knowing the most common mistakes, you can overcome them. In this blog, I’ll help you avoid common resume mistakes and show you how to make a great impression.

Here Are The Most Common Resume Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Poor Formatting: Poor formatting can make your resume difficult to read, and unprofessional. Use a neat and simple layout for your resume. We have already discussed the three resume formats above; you can choose one based on your background.
Typing and Grammar Errors: Always keep your resume grammatically correct and perfect. Mistakes in spelling and grammar will make a bad impression on recruiters. So proofread your resume multiple times, and also use the Grammarly tool to check for spelling and grammar errors. Moreover, you can ask your friends or relatives for reviews.
Too Long or Too Short: The length of your resume is important because it affects how employers see you. If it’s too long, they might not read all of it. If it’s too short, it might not show enough of your skills and experience. So complete the resume in 1-2 pages. Quality is more important than quantity. Highlight the experience and skills that are most relevant to the job you want. Always make your resume short and relevant so that you’ll make a great impression.
Ignoring Keywords: Nowadays, companies are using ATS tools to scan resumes. These systems look for certain keywords that match the job description. If your resume doesn’t include the right keywords, it may get rejected. So including keywords from the job description and using them naturally in your resume will help you get past the ATS.
Highlighting Responsibilities, Not Achievements: Employers are interested not only in your responsibilities but also in how well you do them. They are looking for proof of how well you performed those duties. For example, instead of just saying you managed social media, you could say you grew the account by 100K followers in a month or boosted sales by 25%.
Wrong Contact Information: If your contact details are not updated, employers can’t reach you. So always make sure that your phone number, email, and LinkedIn profile are up-to-date.
One-Size-Fits-All: Sending the same resume for every job is not good. So customize your resume for each job by focusing on the skills and experiences that match the job description. Start with a summary that focuses on how your background fits the specific job. Also, mention the job title and key qualifications mentioned in the job posting.

You can also customize your CV for each job, use the right keywords, and keep the format clean with tools like a Canva CV.

Canva is a great tool to create a professional and visually appealing resume. Canva offers a wide range of customizable templates, so you can easily tailor your CV to match your style and the job you’re applying for. The platform is user-friendly, with drag-and-drop features that make designing your CV more attractive.

So avoid these mistakes, keep it focused, highlight your achievements, and always tailor your resume to the job you want.

Writing an impactful CV in 2024 is all about highlighting your skills and experience clearly and concisely. Customize your CV for each job, use the right keywords, and keep the design clean and easy to read. Remember, your CV is a way to show who you are and what you can do. Keep it straightforward, be yourself, and let your strengths stand out.