If you are thinking about a new step in your career, it is important that you can send a complete, relevant and strong CV to your sustainable dream employer. However, where do you start and what is important for a strong resume? It's often the first thing an employer will quickly glance at to learn more about your work experiences, education, and skills. The purpose of a CV is therefore to provide a quick overview of what you have to offer. But what are things that you should leave out of your CV, and what is actually important for an employer? To help you on your way to a (sustainable) job with a relevant, short & strong CV, Greenjobs.nl has listed a number of 'Do's & Dont's'!
CV Do's:
1. Use a professional format that makes your CV structured and clear. Tip: Canva has many (free) templates to choose from!
2. Add a strong summary about you as a professional and what gives you energy! Tip: add this to your LinkedIn profile summary/headline as well.
3. Don't forget to show your personality! Your resume should reflect you as a potential new colleague. Put your interests, hobbies, and volunteer work on your resume.
4. Provide more insight into your previous experiences. Below your work experience you can find a short summary of projects/events you have helped with, education/courses you may have attended, or published material you can share.
5. Share more about your education(s)! In addition to which period you studied, also indicate which direction, minor and any activities that have kept you busy in addition to your study. You can also choose to add the title of your thesis!
CV Don'ts
1. No longer than 2 A4 pages! Keep your CV as short and concise as possible.
2. You can certainly include side jobs in your CV, just think about whether it is relevant to the position for which you are applying. For example, are there many? Tip to briefly name them in 1 sentence!
3. Hide experiences. Didn't complete your training? Or briefly started with a job and then found out that this was not the right choice for you? This is nothing to be ashamed of! You probably have a good reason for making a different choice. This is also only interesting for a future employer to know and to discuss during an interview, and it shows that you can be trusted!
4. An 'unprofessional' photo. Be careful if you choose to add a photo to your resume. A photo from a holiday or festival is not the best choice. Choose an open and professional photo of yourself.
5. Don't make grammar mistakes. Have someone else check your CV for spelling and grammar use to make sure you haven't made any mistakes!
The same applies to all tips and you should always ask yourself: 'is this information relevant to the position/employer I am applying for?' Employers want to be able to see at a glance whether the knowledge and experiences you have experienced so far are a match for the open position. So make it as easy as possible for your future employer and adjust your CV per application to keep it as relevant as possible.
With these tips Greenjobs.nl hopes to have helped you on your way to a strong CV. Do not forget that a CV is your business card and that you can explain your skills, projects, studies/theses orally (or in the accompanying motivation letter) during the job interview. Is your CV application ready? Check out our sustainable vacancies to see if there is anything you would like to apply for. Do you have any good resume tips? Greenjobs.nl would love to hear from you, mail them to info@greenjobs.nl.
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