As a beginner, the way you make a CV (also commonly called a resume) is exactly the same as an experienced job seeker.
Every CV has these elements:
- Your name and contact information that also includes the area you live in or want to find work in.
- A professional summary, which is just an introduction to what you have done in the past, what you bring to the table, and what sort of work you are looking to do. This should make you sound awesome and list your strengths and skillset that the company you are applying to will want to hire.
- Your professional history, which is a list of all of the jobs you have had, the company you worked for, the dates you started and finished, and what you achieved in those positions. If you don’t have a long list paid jobs, you can include volunteer work, work experience, internships, relevant schoolwork, and community and sports involvement. Babysitting, dog walking, mowing the neighbours lawn, being a member of the Tournament of Minds team, offering tutoring to your neighbours kids all counts and will be well received.
- Education and qualifications should all be listed under their own section. Here you should list your highest level of education that you have completed (Year 10, Year 12, Certificate II, III or IV, Diploma, Bachelor Degree, Master’s Degree, PhD), the school or institution you attended and the year you graduated. You can also include any amazing accomplishments including honours, awards or medals you have received.
- You need a section for your skills which should include all technical and professional skills you can offer a team, business or organisation. For example, if you are a great public speaker, you can list this here. And if you are a whiz at Microsoft Excel, you pop it here. You want to prove that you are well-rounded in this section, so make sure you have a mix of technical and personal skills.
- You can include additional information also, like your interests, languages (if you speak more than one), community awards, volunteer work, and interesting facts.
- You can include references, but these days it is not expected you always list them on a CV, as if you get to interview stage, you will be asked to provide some people they can call to testify that you are who you say you are and that you can do what you say you can do. Often, people include this section and simply state “References available on request”.
If this all feels overwhelming, you can just go to RecruitableHub.com and Get Started. You will have access to templates that will guide you through the process of creating your first professional CV that you can save and edit as many times over your working life as you need to.
You will be able to just fill in the blanks, choose your colour, access expert advice and download an awesome CV that will improve your chances of getting an interview first time.
No-one will suspect that you are a beginner at this. We promise.
