BEST PRACTICE - CV Writing

CV format

- PDF and avoid Word. Unlike (. PDF), which is universal, the (. Docx) is not compatible with the latest
versions. With PDF, your data is completely secure. PDF reduces file weight (including photo weight).

Naming of the file: CV_name_first name

- Easier to search in the recruitment mailbox.

- Demonstrates care and attention to detail.

- Align your paragraphs and justify your text.

- Clearly separate your headings.

Number of pages

- 1 page per CV.

- Get more attention from the recruiter.

- Easy to read.

- Avoid being pretentious or talkative (no experience, too much content!)

- Nothing prevents you from linking to a personal page (Linkedin) or a professional blog with more
elaborate content.

- Keywords are more easily identified.

Police

- One font No more than two font sizes.

- Avoid italics (not very legible).

- Reserve the use of capital letters to heading headings, your name, CV title and abbreviations and
acronyms.

- The “Times New Roman” is safe in some environments but in others it is seen as the embodiment of
monotony (to be avoided for jobs requiring creativity)

- Use legible, lightweight and professional fonts such as Calibri, Cambria or Verdana.

- If you are applying for a communication box use a font similar to the one chosen by the company for its
communication (present in brochures, advertisements, website etc.).
- The use of a single font for the entire CV may reveal consistency (Bold, capital, underlined, different sizes
to differentiate text from title etc.)

Photo

- Profile photo with not “too big” smile.

- The photo is used to associate an image to a name.

- Photo should not be too large (less than 1/16 of page)

- Ban Facebook photos where your hair eats half your face, those taken in evening attire or by the pool

- Take care of the framing. - Opt for a professional outfit (corresponding to the workplace codes) (a
developer does not pose in a tie suit per exp).

Colors

- Do not abuse color.

- Many HR departments print the CV in black and white.

- Use color for titles to make it easier to read.

- Use no more than two colors to avoid overloading and make sure they are readable (black and white
printing)

Spacing

- Clear and airy presentation.

- Use simple line spacing within your headings and 1.5 between headings to air your presentation

The boxes

- To be avoided if much content (replace with underlines).

- They allow highlighting the titles of the headings.

- They take up a lot of space.

- Some search engines do not search for words in the boxes.

General

- The CV must contain five headings.

- Jobs should be arranged in chronological order (from most recent to oldest).

- Check spelling and punctuation.

- The topics to be presented to make your CV attractive are your marital status and contact details, your
professional experience, your training (academic, supplementary and continuing), your skills (language,
computer and social) and your extra-professional activities (associative life, leisure, etc.)
- Use the same format for dates and/or deadlines.

- Choose the heading correctly.

- Use clickable links for the email address for your professional profiles.

- Use action verbs to present your tasks.

- Prioritizing his professional career over his academic studies.

- An ante chronological presentation allows the recruiter to immediately view your last professional
experience and identify your match to the desired profile.

- Spelling mistakes are difficult, take the time to read yourself carefully and, if possible, have your resume
read by others.

- Don’t forget to punctuate your resume.

- Recruiters absolutely need chronological benchmarks to understand your career path and evolution.
Make your dates and durations visible (highlight) align them or put them in bold but above all homogenize
them.

- Stay consistent in your presentation (Start all sentences in the same way and preferably using action
verbs).

- Be careful with your choice of headings.

- Clickable links allow you to redirect the recruiter to your LinkedIn email or profile (professional review to
shorten your CV).

- Action verbs are more precise, correspond to know-how and are therefore considered skills
Section: personal information and contact details
- Ensure that your business information and contact information are clearly legible and error-free.

- Must add a title to your CV (a CV without a title is wasted time for a recruiter). This section must contain
your first name, your year of birth, your contact details (address, telephone and email)

- If you have multiple phone numbers, there is no need to put them all, choose (maximum) the two
numbers you use the most.

- Feel free to leave a space between each number with your telephone details.

- Enter a business, serious, valid and regularly viewed email address.

- If you are applying in Tunisia, there is no need to indicate that you are Tunisian!

- If you are applying for a position that requires mobility, it is recommended that you state that you are in
possession of a driver’s license.

- Choose a short and precise title to be impactful.

- Capitalize your name (if it is a first name).

- If your first name is mixed you can insert the gender logo in front of your first and last name.

- Avoid putting “wife ………………”

- The address does not have to be precise. The city, the government and the country are sufficient.

- Mentioning family status is optional, avoid “fiancée” or “widow” (single and married) will do.

Section: Professional experience

- Respect the order of the data.

- Indicate dates and durations.

- Specify the title of the position held.

- Specify the company and its location (if different regions)

- Specify the tasks or tasks performed.

- A balance must be maintained between duration, experience, and place on the CV.

- Choose the same format for all dates.

- If this is an internship, please indicate to which department you have completed it.

- Always start with the title of the position you will be filling.

- Detail the tasks performed or missions accomplished (three or five for each position)

- This part of the CV must be consistent with the title of the CV.
- Indicate the month and year of the start and end of each experiment.

- Feel free to use different chips and vary font size to highlight some information.

Section: Training
- Respect the order of the data.

- Mention the dates of your diplomas and certificates.

- Indicate the exact titles of your diplomas, certificates and attestations.

- Mention the specialties.

- State the name of the institution or certifying body.

- Choose this order: year of graduation, title, specialty and location.

Section: Skills and Competencies

- Differentiate social skills, language skills and computer skills.

- If you have pronunciation difficulties differentiating between “spoken” / “written”.

- Even if it seems natural to you, do not forget to mention your mother tongue “Arabic”.

- Specify your language level (if you have passed language tests include them).

- List the three or four social competencies you developed during your work experience (related to the
position).

- IT knowledge should be more or less precise depending on the job

- Don’t underestimate your level, but do not overestimate your skills.

- There is no need to put “internet” in the IT skills section.

- Indicate the controlled software under its trade names.

Section: Extra professional activities

- This heading contains elements of associative and leisure life.

- This section provides a better understanding of the candidate’s personality.

- If you are brought to work as a team, focus on leisure activities involving groups.

- Avoid activities that might “shock” an employer (in this post-revolution period avoid union innuendo) or
high-level sports (synonymous with repeated absence).

- Traditional “reading, cinema, sport” is of no interest to recruiters as to what kind of book, what kind of
sport.