How I get 4 job offers all of a sudden.(ft.CV redesign)

1. Overview

I’ve had a chance to talk to my mentor about the CV. When she told me do I have any work experience, I was shocked. At that moment, I realize there is something wrong with my CV. I used one of the templates on google docs. So I went back to the starting point and tried to build up from scratch to be “Reader centric” which is focusing on hiring managers’ point of view.

2. Problems

Name

Even we are living in the gender equality era, others want to know you are female or male. They get a hint of it from your name.

Consider put your profile picture

If your name is difficult to pronounce, long, or not giving any clues, consider putting your pictures.

Your full name doesn’t need to be there.

People have long names. Your full name only needs when you sign the contract.

A brief or summary

A brief or summary is the most critical part of the CV.

1. Focus on what you are looking for and want.
2. Put the unique selling point of yours. If you don’t have much work experience, remember to put your soft skills instead.
3. If you have other comments to share, such as where you are from and special conditions on job searching, you have to mention it.

Contact information

What I did wrong here is I didn’t consider the flow of eye movement. Left to Right Text People unintentionally start to read the document from top left to bottom right. Contact information is essential, and it should be near your name. My contact details are scattered. Make sure to group the information which has similar traits.

Work experience

It should be clearly shown which path you took. What positions you worked in. If possible, put the outcome with numbers would be nicer. In my case, for example, the official job title is UX designer, but what I actually did was project managing. Don’t wait for the readers to figure out the hidden meanings.

Education

It tells your interest. It should be clearly seen. What I did wrong is mixed usage of proper educations and others.

Skills

There are hard skills and soft skills. Try to avoid the level of each skill. Instead, put more explanations. I put almost everything which leads confusion of what I want. You can give wrong signals and bring the job you don’t want. Remember to focus on what you are looking for and what you can get to the company.

3. Outcome

4. Learning

I am fortunate enough to have a chance to get feedback and coaching on my CV from an inspiring entrepreneur woman. Whether you have any work experience or not, you need an excellent CV or resume. Hiring managers spend 5~6 sec per candidate, and sometimes they just read the first 3 sentences. CV is a sales document of yours. I learned from my mistakes. Considering that I didn’t get any calls for 1month, after changing my CV, I’ve got 4 job offers in a day, which was impressive. I can’t believe how my CV wasn’t user-oriented.

The other things worth mentioning. The CV shouldn’t be over 1 page. Check the layout, alignment, typo, and other design components, especially if you are related to the design area.