UAE job hunting: Top tips to make sure your CV is noticed

Your CV/resume is your first impression on those who are to decide whether they will hire you or just trash your application in the bin.

A first impression is the last impression and in this case perhaps the only chance to decide if you will be allowed in the interview room or not. So, make sure you have a very strong resume in place to ensure you make it to the round of job interviews and finally land that job.

There is no set template when it comes to making a perfect resume and each recruiter will want it in a different style.

Even though there is no formula for a perfect 10, you can ensure that your CV is compact, has all the vital information that a recruiter needs, is properly constructed and is worded properly without any inaccuracies and nuances.

First things first. You should follow a set structure, something that is considered a norm in the corporate world.

Ideally, you should start with personal details, like your full name, date of birth and your updated contact details. Some jobseekers also include their country of birth, martial status and nationality.

 This is not necessary, but maybe acceptable particularly in a place like the UAE where the majority of the workforce is made up of expat workers and your marital status can give your recruiter a clear picture that if successful you will be asking or entitled to a package that will also support your family.

Next on the list should be your educational history and professional qualifications.

You can begin by stating the institutions you attended and the year of graduation. This should be done in reverse order - university before school. You should also include if you’d won any awards during your education.

For example, if you’d successfully started a micro-finance project in Africa during your research work or had climbed the Kilimanjaro Mountain don’t forget to state these facts. They are as important as the A grades you may have scored at school or college and vital for new graduates who really don’t have much professional background to boast of.

Then, comes, your professional history, which again should be in reverse order. So, you should state your role as a senior manager before you elaborate on your internship period. Just as with your education history, don’t miss out your achievements and responsibilities against each role.

You should also include computer skills and knowledge of foreign language and any other recent training/development that is relevant to the role applied for.

Ideally, your hobbies and interests should be kept last. You can also make it clear to the recruiter that you can provide references but this should be done only on request. Avoid talking about current or expected salary in your resume.

Now that we are done with what all should go into your resume, let’s look at things which you should never do.

Make sure that your CV is accurate and consistent. “Your CV is your first impression on your prospective employer even before you meet him face-to-face and a shoddy CV with inconsistencies will not augur well for you.

“This is one pre-employment trait that is disliked a lot. Employers like to see consistency in the CV. Consistency in terms of industries, consistency in duration of employment, roles, titles etc,” says Ash Athawale, Recruitment Manager at Reed Specialist Recruitment.

Grammatical errors are also an absolute no-no. “One pet peeve of recruiters is that candidates who have spelling mistakes in the subject or the body of an e-mail/CV and the other is attention to detail. It may not appear to be important, but it creates an impression.

“Double/triple check your spellings before you send out an e-mail. Have someone else read it. Look for inconsistencies - dates, numbers, tank instead of thank,” as Athawale puts it.

Lastly, do not lie in your CV. Do not state the companies you never worked for or do not lie about the position you never held or the academic qualification you don’t have. It’s easier for a recruiter to find about the truth than you think.

Your resume should be a picture of you and nobody wants to hire a candidate who comes out as an inconsistent and a liar in the first place. Instead, illustrate why you are different from other candidates and the best choice to get hired in no more than two sheets.

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