Do’s and Don’ts in CV and Resume

Introduction

A Curriculum vitae or CV and Resume are one of the very important and necessary things for
a person in the academic market. These are looked and asked by various institutions and
company and these CV and Resume provide them information about you and about your
knowledge and experience. So, it is very important for an individual that his/her CV and
Resume look completely appropriate as well as honest as it also gives an expression of you to
the other person. A person should follow certain rules and regulations while making a CV
and Resume and while doing it there are certain do’s and don’ts that are to be followed some
of them are discussed below.

Firstly, we will discuss about certain do’s and don’ts in a CV.

What to do when writing a CV

● Keep it short – To make your CV effective it is very important that it is short don’t
try to make it very long with the details not required and it should only contain the
relevant information about you and extra or unnecessary details should be avoided
● Make it in a logical manner – Proper logical manner should be used. Use headings,
fonts, proper language and a chronological manner should be used to write your
details.
● Highlights – you should highlight various points that seems to be important and that
you think should be catchy to the eyes of the reader and make your CV effective and
easy to read. Highlight all your achievements.
● Using of bullet points – It is one of the most important point that should be
considered in your CV. Using of bullets points help to write your CV in an attractive
manner. The bullet points are helpful to provide the information without any
confusion as the matter is in proper points and are not colliding into each other. It also
makes the CV look professional.
● Check Errors- It is very necessary to check the errors in your CV before its final
drafting or before you send it to someone. You can check it through various ways
either check it with the help of any format or you can also take help from any other
person who can review your CV and help it to make in a proper manner. Errors
should be avoided in order to make a good impression for your CV.
 ● Use power words – You should use good vocabulary and powerful words in your CV
words such as achieved, examined, coordinated, attained etc using of such words help
you to improve your CV in such a good manner and make a nice impression on the
reader.
● Make cover letter- May everyone not ask for a cover letter from you but it is very
important for you to make a cover letter this more extra effort from you will show
your proper format as well as your seriousness towards the job.
● Keep it updated – You should keep updating your CV with the passage of time you
should keep adding the details and the achievements you keep gaining from time to
time.
● Don’t show off – Your CV is about you and your achievements and your experience
it should be honest and it should not contain things which are not true it should be
completely honest without any kind of show off in order to make impression to the
reader.
● Other details – You should mention other details like your phone number, email id
so that there is no problem for the other person to contact to you. You are easy to
contact and talk if you mention these details of yourself.

What not to do when writing a CV

● Don’t use paragraph – In your CV don’t write in paragraph form you should always
try to write in bullet points writing in paragraph make it difficult to read and also it
does not look good for reference.
● No different Fonts and size – The font and size of CV should not be experimented
they should be one only and in professional manner different kinds of fonts should not
be used in it.
● No Irrelevant information- All the information in your CV should be which that is
relevant and true it should not contain any irrelevant information which is not
required or which can make your CV less effective.
● The length – The length of the CV is not fixed but it should be kept in mind that the
CV should not contain your life history it should contain the information,
accomplishments and achievements of yours, you should only add specific details
about yourself not keeping it long not short just to the point to make the CV a good
one.
 ● No fake details or reference- You don’t have to use any kind of information which is
fake or any kind of reference which is not made for you in order to gain the job it will
be very bad if you make any such kind of reference or name.
● No grammatical mistakes- There should be no grammatical mistakes in your CV
these small mistakes of grammar can make a bad impression on your CV. You should
check your CV always before sending it to someone
● No negative information- There should be no negative information in your CV like
big gaps in your experience or such history which create a negative impact in your
CV.
● Other things not to include- In your CV you should not use things like colour fonts,
colour marks for highlights or different kind of bullet points your CV should be a
complete professional and it should be made with that only keeping in mind the
format and need of your CV.

Now we will discuss about various do’s and don’ts in a resume

● Make a creative resume – Your resume should be a creative one you should put
what idea or input you can add to make your resume look creative like graphics or
multimedia presentations can be added in it.
● Include soft skills- Your resume should include your soft skills which you like to
perform and also which can tell more about your skills to the reader. Your soft skills
may include your interpersonal skills like your patience, teamwork management,
communication etc
● Highlights – While making your resume you should highlight all the relevant points
and experience of yours that are necessary for the job. This will make for the reader to
easily access your resume.
● Resume format – A proper format of resume should be used it should be seen while
making the resume that you consider the format and make your resume in such a way
that is proper as well as needed.
● Headings and sub headings- You should use headings and sub headings in your
resume it will lead the resume in a more powerful content and it will also lead the
hiring person to easily read the see for the points he is looking for in your resume.
● Bullet points – Using of bullet points are needed as it provides a clear vision to your
resume and did not lead to any sort of confusion to the reader and also give an
effective touch to your resume.
 ● Show your growth – It is very important for an individual to write his/her growth in
there resume it will show about how you have made certain growth and gain
experience in your life.
● A summary statement- A summary statement which consists of a couple of lines at
the beginning of your resume that give a potential broad outline of your skills and
experience gives an impact on your resume.
● Align dates and locations at the right – you should make these details on the right
side by making column in the right side these small efforts will make your resume
neat and good one.
● Contact information – Your resume should contain your proper contact number and
your email id so that you can be easily informed or contacted.

What not to do when writing a resume

● Don’t use many fonts- You should not use more than one font in your resume. Using
different kinds of font may let your resume move away from professionalism and
make it usual.
● Don’t mention obvious skills- You should not mention the obvious skills rather you
should mention highlight skills that make you stand out.
● Don’t try to hide gaps- One should be very honest in their resume and in order to be
honest you should not hide anything which mainly include gaps if there are any in
your resume. One should never try to hide anything like this and should be true to
their words mentioning in the resume.
● No negative information- Your resume should not contain any sort of negative
information or negative words whatever you write in your resume it should always
give a positive meaning and a positive interpretation about you and your work.
● Don’t include that could be discriminated against- While it is illegal to
discriminate on any basis like caste, religion, marital status but don’t give any chance
to them like that and avoid such details.
● Don’t make it too long – Don’t make your resume too long make single page resume
if you had little work experience, two pages if you have a lot experience but don’t
make it long by adding extra information that are not required.
● Don’t use passive voice- Don’t use passive voice in your resume it makes evasive
and unclear the content you should rather use active voice.
● Don’t lie- Don’t lie in any section of your resume while mentioning the details of
your work or your experience in order to impress the person to get the job. Your
resume should contain your honesty.

These were some do’s and don’ts while writing a CV and a resume there can be many
more points which can be considered by an individual while preparing a CV or a resume.
The important thing that needs attention while preparing them is the format and the
content which you write in it. Little efforts can help you in making a good, simple and a
neat CV or a resume for yourself.