Avoid unprofessional sounding email addresses like musicfreak1999@cvowl.com
Linkedin Guidelines
Know how to find your LinkedIn public profile url, click here
Only fill the username, not the complete url. For example: If your public profile url is https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/abc123, you just need to fill in/abc123.
Achievements Guidelines
Represent information in bullet format.
Don’t add participation certificates in this section.
Achievements from school life can be avoided until and unless it's too good like the Top 0.1% in All India Intermediate Studies (Tip only for graduates or students applying for higher education).
Here are few examples on how to frame your achievements:
Merit Scholar at {College Name} (Undergraduate Studies) - Top 5
Top 0.1% All India in Intermediate Studies
Winner, All India TRAI Hackathon (>1800) teams
Winner, Microsoft Hackathon 2019 in innovation category
Qualified and successfully completed Google SoC, 2019
Awarded the …
Recognized as ...
Achieved recognition for…
Received “X” Award for exemplary contribution being a project leader in the successful implementation of GST in the organization.
Received Star Performer Award for the year 2014
Received 3 Awards for my contribution towards successful Product Release.
Awarded as a Top Performer for HCL O2 Awards, 2012-13
Nominated for “ Best Employee of the Company”
Top performer of the department.
Language Guidelines
We recommend mentioning languages only if they are cross-border i.e. international languages or if the local language is required in the job role you are in.
For Student CV/ Classic CV/ Premium CV Template the best practice is to add a custom section as a section name “ADDITIONAL DETAILS” and add languages as shown below. And in case using Smart CV Template, if you know only one language...please follow the above approach.
Hobbies Guidelines
We recommend you to add maximum 3 hobbies.
For Student CV/ Classic CV/ Premium CV Template the best practice is to add a custom section as a section name “ADDITIONAL DETAILS” and add hobbies as shown below. And in case using Smart CV Template, if you have only one hobby...please follow the same approach.
Certifications Guidelines
Only add Professional Certifications in this section like CSM, PMP.
Online Courses Completion Certificates can be added in “Professional Development” section.
Don’t add participation certificates, can be added in sections like Extra-Curricular Activities, Training & Workshops, etc.
Photo Guidelines
Adding the photograph depends on the profession. For the Web Developer role, Photograph is not required but Yes ! For the Cabin Crew role.
Also sometimes adding a photo, directs the recruiter focus on photo instead of resume content.
Course Name Guidelines
List schools attended and degrees earned, most recent first.
Don’t forget to add your specialization.
If you are experienced enough, list your bachelors and masters only...No need to add high school and secondary school details.
Don’t abbreviate the course name. But if used in Job Description, then use both like Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Marks Guidelines
No need to provide marks if you have more than 2 to 3 years of experience.
Month & Year Guidelines
No need to provide a start month and year, if you are mentioning your school or college academic credentials. Year of passing is sufficient.
Skill Type Guidelines
Categories can be like: Technical Skills, Analytical Skills, Programming Languages, Softwares, Cloud Platforms, Monitoring Tools, Security Tools, SDLC, DevOps Tools, General, Miscellaneous.
Skill Name Guidelines
Add and focus more on hard skills, your work and responsibilities will showcase your soft skills.
Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop --> Just write "Adobe Photoshop (Expert)"
DOB/Gender/Marital Status/Nationality Guidelines
CVs have traditionally included personal details but this is now considered rather old-fashioned and isn't recommended.
Also depends on country to country as well.
Resume Headline Guidelines
Should be just a one-liner. Here are few examples on how to frame it.
{Applying Position/Designation} with {N} Years of Experience.
{Applying Position/Designation} with {N} Years of Experience in {Industry/Domain/Hard Skills}.
{Applying Position/Designation} with Extensive {Domain/Hard Skills} Knowledge.
{Applying Position/Designation} Specializing in {Domain/Hard Skills}.
{Applying Position/Designation} with {N} Years’ {Domain/Hard Skills} Experience.
Expert {Applying Position/Designation} and Knowledgeable in {Hard Skills}.
Certified {Certification Name} Specializing in {Hard Skills}.
Award-Winning {}.
Honors {Specialization} Student with {Hard Skills} Experience.
Graduate {Specialization} Student with {Hard Skills} Experience.
{Specialization} Student with {Hard Skills} Experience.
Summary Guidelines
Limit to 3 to 5 sentences.
Don’t use I, me, my.
Include your position title, years of experience, industry/domain worked in.
Talk about your area of expertise (Required for your next job).
Also, talk about your soft skills as well.
Experience Guidelines
Communicate your work experience in bullet points instead of paragraph (2 to 6 max bullet points).
Don’t use numerals (1,2,3) as bullet points.
Don’t include company description.
Don’t abbreviate job titles. But if used in Job Description, then use both like Certified Scrum Master (CSM).
Avoid phrases like "responsible for..." and "duties included..."
First word of every bullet to be an action verb.
Articles of speech (a, an, the) are omitted on resumes since they tend to slow the reader and waste valuable time.
Try to quantify your roles & responsibilities
Recruiter wants to know how big your role is ?
Recruiter wants to know how good you were in your role ?
Recruiter wants to know how you contribute to the company ?
Think about how my department’s success is measured?
Think about what KPIs your manager rate you for appraisal?
Think about how you judge your juniors' work ?
For example, most recruiters who see "expanded client base" on a resume automatically ask, "By how much?"
BEFORE: Conducted training for internal teams. AFTER: Conducted over 20 trainings in smart learning techniques with high school students and teachers, reaching over 500 people.
Add accomplishments/achievements along with your roles and responsibilities. To identify your accomplishments, follow the PAR Method.
Problem: Identify a responsibility or issue at work
Action: Discuss how you addressed the problem
Results: What was the outcome of that action
Project Guidelines
Give a short description about the project in paragraph format.