14 Basic Guidelines for Preparing Resume/CV

[grace.cdc]

Hey, congratulations as you are going to complete your graduation from a well-known University/Institution. Now, this is the time to prepare yourself for the job battle and find your dream job. But..but..but.. is your resume well-organized? If you say yes with confidence, then WOW you have really done a good job. But if the answer is no, then no worries.

First, there are 14 basic rules which you need to know before preparing your Resume/CV. Let's start with the basics -

1. Difference between Resume/CV:
Your resume is a summary about you. All you need to do is just summarize your details and put all your information in just one page.
On the other side, CV contains your in-depth details where the page number will be increased. But try to prepare your CV within 2 pages.

2. Career Objectives:
This is a simple statement on what you want to be and what is the reason for choosing the profession specially. Don't copy others career objectives in your CV/Resume. Try to write it within 2-3 sentences.

3. Professional Title:
Always be careful about the company's position name and the professional title on your CV / resume when you are applying for it. For example If you are applying for a teaching position, do not write a graphics designer at the top of your CV as your Profession.
Most importantly, Do not use the same resume / CV format everywhere. It will be prepared depending on the title of the job you are applying for.

4. Margin:
In CV, this is very important to make the right margin of your paper. The standard format is giving 1 inch for all sides. But if you need more space, simply reduce the margin to .25 from the top and bottom. Do not reduce the left and right sides margin of your resume/CV.
In the case of a resume, you can keep a 0.5-1 inch margin in all the sides.

5. Font Family:
The most commonly used font is Time News Roman. Instead of this you also can use any fonts which have a tail (For Example: Bell MT, Constantia, Garamond, Bookman Old Style etc.)

6. Font Size:
10-12 is basically mostly used font size, where 12 is always right for your CV. You can use 14-16 font size for focusing on your Full name.

7. Font Design:
Write the head points with block letters (For Example: CAREER OBJECTIVES, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE)

8. Text Alignment:
Between Paragraphs: You can use 1.15 spaces within paragraphs.
Paragraph to Paragraph:  You should be aware to make a minimum distance between two paragraphs, so that anyone can easily understand your CV. 1-1.15 space is better for paragraphs to paragraphs.
   
9. Page Break:
Never break your paragraph. For example, in the educational qualification part, you cannot write your bachelor and HSC degree in the first page and SSC in the next page. You must cover your paragraph in one page.

10. Color:
Don't use too much and many colors on your resume.
Text Color: Only used Black color for the text. In fact in the case of Email Address, the text color will be black and no underline will be used. If you want to highlight a text, instead of using color, just use Bold, Italic, UPPERCASE, "doubles quotation". Or you can use dark blue, dark coffee this types of colors, which are eye friendly.
Paper Color: Always use White Background.

11. Photo Attachment:
Image Size: It should be always square measuring (2 inches on both sides).
Background: White background is always acceptable. Also plain blue color is widely acceptable. Never use multicolor)
Proper shot: Never use any informal image on your resume. Always try to take a shot where your both ears are visible and keep a smile on your face. Another suggestion is to try to avoid wearing too much colored clothing when taking a shot.
Color of Attached Image: Every time use a color photo on your resume. Black & white photos are not attractive to the hiring company.

12. Add Profile Link:
Try to add a social media link which is organized in a professional way. You can add LinkedIn (Mandatory), Facebook, YouTube Channel, Twitter and so on.
If you have any google site or video resume, then use those links.
Links related with your education also can be used (Like: github, URI Online Judge).

13. Use of Design:
You can use very simple designs on your CV. But excessive designs make the CV informal. Follow the given designs:

CAREER OBJECTIVES (Standard)
   
CAREER OBJECTIVES (Standard)

14. File Name:
Be careful about the filename of your CV / resume. You should save it by (CV_Your Last Name/ Resume_Your Last Name)


Are you still with me?? Great!!! Thank you for your active participation. Now start to prepare your CV and Resume with these guidelines. CDC is always here to help you for your better career.

Good luck. ☺

Source: Prepared By Grace Joydhar, Assistant Administrative Officer of CDC, DIU