Have you mastered your CV?
Writing a CV isn’t as simple listing every casual gig you’ve had since primary school. According to job-hunting giants Seek, there’s a right – and a wrong – way to put one together. Take our quiz to see if you’re on track!
How long is your resume?
Half a page! They’ll call you if they need more info.
1-2 pages! You’ve tried to keep your word count as tight as possible in order to stand out.
5+ pages! There’s no way you’d be able to list every award/primary school job/glowing reference from your grandparents in any less.
What’s at the very top of your CV?
Your name and contact details.
A killer reference in quotation marks.
Your current role, and why you’re leaving.
Does your resume include any hobbies or personal info?
Yes – a whole page to show off your personality!
No – you make a conscious effort not to disclose any of your personality, even in the interview.
Yep, just one or two sentences on interests relevant to the role.
Who should you address your cover letter to?
The hiring manager – you can usually hunt this down online, or by hitting up HR.
“To whom it may concern” or you leave it blank.
The CEO!
What does your resume look like?
Like a colourful novel. You’ve covered it in pictures of yourself and customised fonts!
Everything is formatted in tables and impressive graphs.
You always use a standard generic font and keep formatting simple – just a few headers and bullet points usually do.
You got {number correct}/{number of questions} correct answers
Time to review your resume and strip it of all the complicated stuff that distracts from your awesome professional skills. No need to include every award you’ve received since kindergarten or awkward photoshopped pics of you in a suit. Pick a basic font and get clever with your words! And a hot tip from Seek? Always – always – run a spell check.
You got {number correct}/{number of questions} correct answers
Your resume is your first point of contact between yourself and a potential employer and you’ve totally nailed the tone, look and feel. Kept things professional? Check. Added a hint of personality in your personal summary? Double check. Make sure you continue to avoid using complicated headers, footers and tables that may not look right when viewed with varying software versions. Oh, and don’t forget to ditch that old, embarrassing email address from primary school!