How to write a CV, what to include, what to omit. The ultimate CV checklist for 2022!

Even though here at PitchMe, we dream of a job-search free of CVs, we appreciate the fact that it might not be immediately possible. Hence, here is a checklist of great information and structural ideas which you should include in your CV.

CV Structure

• Name
• Address
• Email address – Tip: do not use childish or weird email addresses. Stay professional.
• Phone number
• Visa requirements – Tip: adding information on whether you require a visa or not is helpful for employers and can improve your employability in recruitment after Brexit.
• Personal statement – Tip: try to write a concise statement of up to 100 words. It should summarise your skills and achievements, and outline your career goals.
• Education/Work Experience — Think ‘Most recent, most relevant’. If you are a recent graduate, put your education at the top of your CV. If you are a professional looking for new career opportunities, start by summarising your most recent work experience. Use active verbs to describe your work experience (‘achieved’, ‘created’, ‘conducted research’, ‘implemented strategy’, etc). Names of references are not necessary in a CV, but you can add them in this section if you feel it might be relevant.
• Skills and achievements — Think ‘Specific knowledge’. Include information about foreign languages, technical skills, and industry-related knowledge.
• Interests. Include information about your personal interests and hobbies. It can be something that is not related to the position you are going to apply for. Avoid generic interests like ‘reading’, ‘running’, ‘writing’, focus on something that will help you stand out from other candidates. The more memorable and unique the better!

Do not include:

• Your photograph
• Your gender
• Your date of birth
• Your primary and secondary schools
• Long paragraphs
• Irrelevant experiences, education, etc (for example bar experience when applying for an IT job)

*Do not include these bits if not specified otherwise.

Before you send out your CV; the PitchMe checklist

Before you send out your CV, ensure it is ready to go. To do this, you can use the PitchMe checklist:

• Check the name, email address and phone number are correct.
• Check the personal statement is not too long and corresponds to the position you apply for.
• Check the document for typos. Use spell-checking programs or ask someone reliable to have a look at your CV.
• Check the style is unique for the document. If you use bullet points to summarise your most recent work experience, use them everywhere.
• Check the dates in the document. Look for inaccuracies or unexplained breaks between jobs.
• Check the formatting is correct and consistent throughout the document. Try to avoid over editing, i.e. using too many kinds of fonts, too many colours, too many sizes. Do not use childish or funny fonts. Keep it readable and concise. Stay professional.

Work experience

If you are new to the job market and are struggling to select any relevant work experience, check out our blog on how to “find” work experience without having any! Check the tips on finding a job as a graduate without work experience HERE!

Learn to articulate your skills

Peppering your resume with soft skills is another resume trend to pay attention to in 2022. According to an SHRM study, HR professionals cite a lack of soft skills as the leading cause of recruitment difficulty. In the study, which focused on the hiring of HR professionals, more than two-fifths of hiring managers and recruiters reported that applicants lacked the competencies and necessary soft skills for the role.

Other studies question whether this is a skills gap or the inability of jobseekers to communicate their skills effectively. The LiveCareer study found that there exists a significant mismatch between the skills requirements listed in job postings and those listed in applicant resumes, with job ads containing an average of 21.8 resume skills, while resumes only list an average of 13 skills.

Depending on the position you are applying for, the skills you include in your resume might affect your application massively. We understand the struggle of self-evaluation and self-reflection. Sometimes, we do not realise the skills we have that can be useful in our future careers! Did you know, that even playing video games can improve your skills which can be important when looking for a job? You can read about it more HERE!

If you struggle to find your skills yourself, we can help you with that! If you are new here, let us tell you a bit about PitchMe. PitchMe is an AI-based platform that extracts your hard and soft skills from your online presence to help you to get matched with your best-fit job, for free. We capture your skills, measure them and pitch you to employers.

Completing the SmartMe profile takes less than 5 minutes! After linking your website and social media accounts, you get lists and charts explaining and gathering all your soft and hard skills!

You can then use your profile to apply for jobs on our platform, for free and no CV is needed! Sign up now and build your SmartMe profile!

Resume trends in 2022

Now when you have the general idea for your CV and might think you are ready to apply for jobs. However, we also put together the ultimate resume writing tips and trends that you can’t ignore in 2022:

• Always personalise your CV! Tailoring your resume to the individual job description and doing your own research on the company will help you write a resume that gets interviews. But how do you go about doing so? Of course, you should show off your stellar hard skills, but don’t forget to showcase your soft skills as well. A recent study by LiveCareer found that soft skills, defined as personal attributes that enable workers to interact effectively with others in the workplace, are becoming more and more critical to employers. Luckily, PitchMe can help you do that all!
• Optimise your CV for ATS scanning! There are plenty of ATS tools that help in sifting through the thousands of incoming applications that they receive on a weekly basis. Today, however, ATS platforms are widely used among employers and recruiting firms of all sizes. ATS can scan and rank job applications a company receives online. It serves as an electronic gatekeeper for an employer. Recruiters and prospective employers also use them to collect and sort resumes during the hiring process.
• Show results, not just skills! Recruiters want to know more about you than a boring list of skills. Bring your accomplishments to life by adding graphs and numbers to your resume! For example, you can use the skills graphs that are created by PitchMe! Remember that designers like to illustrate their proficiency in different tools and programs and developers like to do the same for the coding languages they are familiar with!
• Skip the fancy design elements! One element to examine might be the design of your resume. With so many companies using applicant tracking systems (ATS), a major resume trend for 2022 is going to be for job seekers to learn to use a resume format that is readable by ATS. To start, review the design of your resume and remove any elements that might be confusing to the software. Busy borders, images, and other artwork can inadvertently get your resume thrown in the “no” pile. Using unusual section headers instead of the typical “skills,” “work history,” and “education” headers can also confuse an ATS. However, a simple well-organised resume doesn’t have to be boring to look at. There are many ATS-friendly resume templates available in our Resume Builder. We also recommend reviewing our resume examples for inspiration on creating an ATS-friendly in your field (MyPerfectResume).
• Keep it short! Even if it took you the whole day in building your resume, hiring managers and prospective employers won’t take as long to review your application. Having an extensive work history that runs on a two-page resume is not always equal to having better chances at securing a job offer. Skip the lengthy descriptions and list the skills or tools you are familiar with instead.
• Technological Competence! Most of today’s industries are defined by various technological advancements. Your Resume is a great opportunity to show off your experience in image editing, SEO, CSS, HTML. Don’t forget to mention familiarity with popular workflow and team or time management tools like Miro, Trello, Slack, Basecamp, Jira, Monday.com, etc. Always show the tools and programs you have experience in but bear in mind that Gmail and Microsoft Office proficiency is rarely considered a skill that would distinguish you from the rest of the candidates in 2022.
• Remote work experience! Remote work is here to stay, whether it’s hybrid, WFH or completely remote, it’s very likely that the company you are applying for might expect you to, sooner or later, work remotely. It might be an advantage to show that you are familiar and comfortable with different types of remote work.
• Update your Social Media profiles! It is no news that employers might have a look at your Social Media before offering you a job. It might be for your benefit to hide embarrassing party photos on Instagram, show off your professional accomplishments on LinkedIn, or engage with social profiles of the companies you are interested in. Don’t forget that you can link your Social Media accounts to your profile on PitchMe so we can extract your skills from them!
• Avoid the meaningless buzzwords! Here’s a tip: Phrases like “hard worker” and “team player” will never impress a hiring manager. Why not, when these attributes are mentioned in nearly every job ad? They’re overused, subjective, and entirely dependent on (often flawed) self-assessment, to name a few reasons. In 2022, you can add the recent trend of buzzword-heavy job titles to your list of things to avoid; if your official title is “Data Wizard,” “Coding Ninja,” or “Finance Rockstar,” do everyone involved a favour and change it to a standard job title instead.

Have we missed any trends or important info that should be included in a CV in 2022? Let us know! Follow us on our socials and don’t hesitate to reach out!

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