With the unemployment rate rising, it is important to stand out when applying for a position.

For the perfect CV, follow the steps below.


  1. First of all focus on the need of the employer. Be aware that you can not use the same resume for each job. Before you start writing, do research about the company and check what the job involves. If your experience and qualifications match the job descriptions start writing your CV. The whole CV should not be more that two pages long.
  2. Prioritise your expertise and skills. Most companies spend less than one minute on reading a CV. This means that you have to let your qualifications stand out. How to do this? Make a list of your experience and training which are relevant to the job. This should invite the employer to read the rest of the CV.
  3. Use a simple and clear language. Be straight forward and to the point.
  4. Focus on your achievements instead of your positions. If you have space you can build your achievements in with your job descriptions.
  5. List your positions in chronological order; starting with the present and working back to the oldest one. Don’t go further back than five years. However, when you are a re-entering nurse or other professional with at least 20 years experience you can can mention this in the skills and expertise section.
  6. List other qualifications, volunteer work and achievements.
  7. Do a spell check and print out the CV. Read it over to check for more spelling mistakes the computer might have overlooked. Some words which have different spelling and meanings are overlooked by the spell checker on your computer.

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