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Are You Using Your CV To Show Yourself Off?

CVsGraduate Jobs

One of life's hardest missions is treading the fine line between using your CV to make you appear as the best person in the world for the job that you are applying for, without coming across as brash or arrogant. With every job inundated with hundreds of applicants, how do you make yourself stand out?

One of life's hardest missions is treading the fine line between using your CV to make you appear as the best person in the world for the job that you are applying for, without coming across as brash or arrogant. With every job inundated with hundreds of applicants, how do you make yourself stand out? Every employer will have tales to tell of applicants who have written poems, shaved their CV into their body hair, printed it onto a t-shirt or baked their potential employers a cake with the hope of grabbing their attention. Urban legend tells of a man who included a letter from his mother into his job application and another who sent in a naked picture of himself. This guy got the right level of ingenuity - on the other side of his standard A4 CV he printed a full-page photograph of his face with a QR code where his mouth should be. When one scans the barcode with their smart phone a video recording is launched where the applicant explains why he should get the job. In doing so he has displayed commitment, creativity and technical ability.
Be careful that when trying to make your CV a real eye catcher that you do not make incriminating blunders. Creativity can work to your advantage, but stupidity certainly won't. Make sure that you are 'interested to hear more about' as opposed to 'here more about', that you have a 'strong work ethic' as opposed to 'a strong work ethnic', you have good 'public speaking skills' and not 'pubic speaking skills' and that you are good at 'proof reading' and not 'prof reading'. Being prom queen does not count as an achievement, your two years spent working as a club rep in Kavos may not impress all employers and your Grade 3 flute can be forgotten about. Do not go too over the top with colours and fonts - swirly fonts make look pretty but are difficult to read and too much colour may make you appear as if you let your seven year old sister proof read.
Finally, remember that honesty is not always the best policy. Including that 'time keeping skills need improvement' and 'can operate to a moderate level when hungover' will not make you appear personable and endearing. Let your quirks gently come out once you have got the job.
mona tabbara grb author

Mona studied English at the University of Bristol.

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