How to write a killer CV or resume

Let's go through step by step on what consists of a killer CV or Resume that will be seen and explore why we prefer this.

Your CV is the first thing that a prospective employer will see. They won't know what you look like, what you name is, and know anything about you. You have to get this right, otherwise your CV sits on a mountain of other CVs that failed to grab the attention that gets you progressed.

There are many templates of CVs that you can download online, sure. But what you want is not a good template, you want a style that will your points across and convince the person on the other side to see you for an interview.

Here is my own style that has worked on so many interviews.
First thing to note is that you should always keep digital copies of your CV as well different variations of your CV. Unless you are highly specialised, you will likely be applying for different roles in different companies and in different industries. So there is no "one version" that works all the time.

Quite possibly the best CV style

So here's a quick breakdown of the main components from top to bottom.

  • Personal details This is where your personal contact details go. Pretty basic information of your name, address, email address, phone number, LinkedIn handle, etc. Do not include a photo and any other kind of @ handles like TikTok or your Instagram. Obviously if the role is for social media then this would be relevant, but otherwise leave these out.

  • Summary This is a very brief executive summary of you and your role objective. It is like a very quick summary of your whole CV and tells the employer what you're all about, what you've done, and what you would like to do. Should be no more than 3 to 4 sentences.

  • Experience Your potential new employer is going to need convincing and to know why they need to interview you. This is the meat of the CV and focus will be primarily on this section. You need to clearly state a) your role or title b) the company your worked in c) dates you worked from and to d) a short set of bullet points of your tasks and responsibilities, achievements, and even where you saved your employer time or money. You should not write this in long prose or multiple paragraphs.

  • Education and Training This will likely be an unpopular opinion, but a lot of employers aren't going to care too much if you went to a certain university, what you majored in, or what grades you achieved. it won't matter unless you are a graduate or its for a intern job. But even if it's your first hospitality or retail job, employers will see that you managed to hold down a job and responsibilities without getting fired.
Notice that we don't include things like hobbies or other activities. Unless its absolutely relevant to the role, you shouldn't clutter up the CV.
eDiscovery performs some seriously powerful searches and this function is generally reserved for investigative or audit functions with an organisation. This is because cases are able to interrogate ALL aspects of M365, profiles, content, data and activity across the tenant.

Writing the summary

eDiscovery performs some seriously powerful searches and this function is generally reserved for investigative or audit functions with an organisation. This is because cases are able to interrogate ALL aspects of M365, profiles, content, data and activity across the tenant.

Writing your experience

eDiscovery performs some seriously powerful searches and this function is generally reserved for investigative or audit functions with an organisation. This is because cases are able to interrogate ALL aspects of M365, profiles, content, data and activity across the tenant.

Writing your education and training

Some further thoughts on writing CVs getting your resume to be optimal.

  • Companies use search engine like software to sift through the CVs - For every role that gets advertised the company is going to get hundreds of applicant CVs. The more generalised the role, the more they will receive. Because of this bulk, they use complicated software to a) convert the CVs to keywords b) run a search on keywords c) actually look at the first 3 o 5 CVs that are returned.

  • Your name, contact details and (if you put it on there) photo will likely be removed - A lot of recruitment agents will generally remove the upper-most personal information from your CV before it gets into the hands of the employer and interviewer. This is due to blind-hiring trends and to ensure that hiring basis is purely on merit and not on any other factors. This is also to remove any questions in terms of bias or prejudices.

  • The typical employer and recruitment agent will not have time to read through your CV - Despite how important you think your CV is, the typical viewer will only give it a few seconds and scan for key words. This is why the executive summary should be first and also should be very succinct. Chances are they will also scan for a) the roles your have done b) companies you worked for and c) what you want to do next. Everything else will be explored if they give it a second thought.

  • Don't just submit an application for the role, tailor it - You look at a role and look at your CV. You are a perfect fit. But are you really? Read the job requirements very carefully and then adjust your CV accordingly. Make sure your CV matches exactly what the role is after, even if it's a lie based on a truth.

Further notes to remember