How to write an amazing CV (that won’t be ignored!)

A big misconception when it comes to CVs is:

A perfect CV guarantees me this job.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

The only task your CV has to fulfil is to present your qualifications and hard/soft skills.

No more, no less.

The only thing that will really get you the job is your personality, your attitudes and values and your personal story. You can then show these in the interview. But you have to get there first! We’ll show you how to do this in this article.

Your CV is the first impression – make sure it counts!

You are not present in person when recruiters scan your CV. So your CV has to speak for you!

👍 Yes, candidate fits!

Why?

+ CV is easy to read, well structured

+ Focus on results/figures

+ relevant information

+ Design that adapts to the desired industry

or 

👎 No, candidate does not fit.

Why?

– CV is hard to read

– Too much unstructured information (information dump)

– not adapted to the job you are applying for

– Missing results/figures

The latter in particular can result in your CV not getting you any invitations to interviews.

We must have scanned thousands of CVs in our careers as recruiters. Unfortunately, most of them are not as good as they could be. But to help you do things differently, here are a few tips on how to write a CV that won’t be ignored!

We also differentiate between must-have and nice-to-have content. Let’s start with the first one:

Your header has to be spot on!

Here you definitely need a nice picture and – don’t forget – your contact details.

(You wouldn’t believe how often these are missing from CVs!)

In the UK and the USA, for example, pictures are not welcome, but in Germany it’s a completely different story. Here, HR managers may sort you out straight away because your picture is missing.

So what kind of picture should you use?

It’s best to take a look at the company, go to the team page and the social media channels. What vibes come across in the pictures? Rather casual, relaxed and cheeky? Then take a photo that blends in well. Are you applying in a conservative industry such as banks, law firms, etc.? Here you can also choose a conservative picture. Simply adapt your photo to the industry and the company you want to work for!

When it comes to contact options, it is also important that you state where you live (HR managers pay very close attention to this, as it also determines whether someone has to move for the job or not). Also include your telephone number with the correct country code, your email address and possibly a website and portfolio. (Important for e.g. software developers or UX designers who want to showcase their work)

Your career stages: Less is more!

It is best to always start achronologically, i.e. with your current place of work. Also state the year and month – and don’t forget:

• What is the name of the company and where is it located?
• What is your job title?
• Is it a permanent position, a short-term contract or a freelance gig?

Why is this important?

If you have only worked in a position for 1 or 2 months, this immediately raises questions for recruiters: Did he or she not want to work there any longer? Was he or she made redundant? So avoid room for speculation as far as you can.

Now describe your tasks and the tools and skills that were used. It’s best to do this in bullet points and not in a continuous text, otherwise it will be harder to read. Be as specific as possible here, mention the budget you managed, the team size if you were a manager and any other numbers and metrics that are relevant.

But the same applies here: short and simple and straight to the point!

If you only give your job title and the date and nothing else, it looks pretty old school. That might have been the case in the 90s, but today it’s pretty unprofessional.

If HR-managers do not receive any information about your specific activities and results in the respective position, they will find your CV much less interesting than those who put more effort into it!

An example:  

I saved 2.7M within 2 months after negotiating 2 new contracts with XY.

Be sure to mention the software and tools that were used. (MS 365, Asana, Monday, Figma, CRM tools etc…)

Be as specific as possible and emphasise the value you have brought to the company in the position.

Other examples:

– managed a team

+ responsible for an international team of 15 marketing consultants. Result: A new digital campaign for AUDI for the 40+ target group

– increased sales

+ Increased sales results by 22% in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019 through a new distribution strategy

– wrote articles

+ wrote weekly articles on the company blog about the latest employer branding hacks

– improved processes and cut costs

+ saved € 40,000 in Q2 2020 by restructuring offline marketing activities

Your education: It doesn’t matter where you went to primary school!

Again, list your highest degree first. You really don’t have to mention where you went to school if you are a Master’s graduate. Nobody cares about that.

Be precise here too: what, where and when?

If you like, you can enter your final grade or your major, but you don’t have to.

Do you have any relevant certificates? List these too! Recruiters like to see that you are continuing your education, like on LinkedIn, for example.

Languages: Please do not “Fake it till you make it”

Always start with your mother tongue and then only enter languages that you really speak! We all had French or Spanish at school. Does that mean we can also converse in it? I don’t know about you, but the best I could do is order a dessert in French. (Une fromage s’il vous plaît)

Even if ChatGPT can help you to write your CV in German, for example: If you don’t speak German, you will only mislead recruiters. If they call you and you can’t get a word out in German, that’s not a good first impression! Even if you ask to continue the interview in English – some international candidates have lost their chances of getting a job in Germany because of this.

If you still want to show that you are learning a language because you want to work in Germany, for example, then be sure to add the level, e.g. A1 or B2! This also shows that you are willing to learn!

Let’s move on to the nice-to-have details:

Only include them if they are really relevant to the role. This could be skills such as Photoshop, Illustrator or CSS. To be honest, soft skills such as time management are just empty words if they are taken out of context. It is better to place them directly under the respective position and show how they were used there.

Some applicants also have a short profile description on their CV. That’s ok, but please don’t use the third person unless you’re a celebrity and your agent is writing your CV for you! (HR people don’t really read that either, to be honest)

Social accounts: No HR person is interested in your breakfast bowl on Instagram

Only really list your social accounts if they are job relevant. LinkedIn yes, but Instagram and Facebook no (unless you are an influencer and have built a personal brand, which could be relevant in marketing roles!)

Also, only state things like driving licence and visa status if the job description requires it. As an EU citizen, this is irrelevant, but if you come from another country, it is more relevant.

What you definitely don’t need to include in your CV:

• Gender
• Relationship status
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Religion

Read our article: 12 Interview questions you don’t have to answer

What about my hobbies?

Before you go and put your yoga experience on your CV, think about what you want to communicate to your future employer.

-> Hobbies can give an insight into what the candidate likes to spend their time doing or what additional skills they have.

We personally find it super exciting to read what the person likes to do in their free time. It shows that you do something in your free time to recover from stressful phases at work. Plus: It’s a great starting point for small talk.

However, some colleagues think differently!

Write your hobbies on your CV if you

• have limited work experience
• if your skills are not sufficient for the job you are applying for
• the employer places a strong emphasis on personality
• it is clear from the job description that your hobbies could fit in with some tasks

Always be strategic and clever – what you list here will probably be assessed differently.

What doesn’t belong on your CV:

• Hobbies without much or no interactivity (e.g. watching Netflix)
• Hobbies that give too much insight into personal topics such as religion and political views

What is the ideal length for a good CV?

The ideal length is between 1 and 3 pages. There are very good one-pagers and very bad 15-pagers.

Here too: Relevance always comes first!

If you list jobs that date back more than 5 years, don’t include details or skills. Just mention them!

What is the right format for my CV?

It is best to always send your CV in PDF format and not as a Word file and certainly not as a JPG file.

Why?

The application management software that is often used can usually only read PDFs.

Apart from that, Word just doesn’t look nice. Which brings us to the next point: The design!

Which design is best for my CV?

Quite simply: it’s always best to use a modern design. A CV that looks like a Wikipedia entry will not go down well in the vast majority of cases.

The examples on the left show a bold use of colour and a lot of personality, while the example on the right is very old-fashioned.

The modern examples function almost like a sales page – and rightly so, as they are designed to sell you as a person! If the formatting and design are right, your chances of being remembered are simply higher. Also pay attention to the choice of colours (pink doesn’t suit every job). The font should also be consistent, it just doesn’t look good if you change the font three times in the document itself.

There are many tools you can use to create a beautiful design. Examples are Canva, Zety, Novoresume or Visual CV.

Our three favourites are definitely: Canva, MS Word or Zety.

ÜBy the way: We at smartist.one have developed a template that will massively increase your chances of getting a job interview. Sign up below for our newsletter and automatically receive your CV template in your inbox.

11 tips for upgrading your CV

• know yourself and, more importantly, what is important to you
• know the target group that will read your CV
• look for a current position before you start writing your CV
• tailor your CV to each (!) company individually
• prove the skills instead of just naming them
• focus on results and less on tasks
• place keywords from the job description in your CV
• write it in an easily understandable way (bullet points)
• show examples of how your skills were used and what results you were able to achieve thanks to them
• focus on the last ten years of professional experience as much as possible (the waiter job as a student doesn’t count)

Wir hoffen, dass du mit diesen Tipps deinen Lebenslauf selbstständig überarbeiten kannst – und den Jobinterviews somit nichts mehr im Weg steht!