Is there any specific CV formatting that recruiters and HR prefer while evaluating them? I have seen so many people using colourful blocks and a photo of their face, while many others prefer a simple black and white one with/without the logo of their institution. Is there a standard format that everyone can follow?
1. Marks. Please state marks of 10, 12 and graduation properly. I know some people will say how does it matter... But people care about those who have performed well academically and consistently. You saying I'm a graduate of GNLU and then acting "how does my CGPA matter?" Is entitled behaviour. You might as well say "I've passed the bar, hire me now". Marks matter. It signals an important quality of a person. If you don't have good marks, your CV has to be otherwise excellent. This is the hard truth. I get very suspicious of CVs that don't disclose this info. A low CGPA is better than no CGPA.
2. Don't fill your CV with isolated instances like "volunteered with hospitality in 2018 sports fest", "attended legal literacy program in 2019". No one cares. If you have consistently done it year after year (such as attended 20+ legal literacy programmes, incharge of hospitality for sport fest for 4 years) then it makes sense. One single isolated volunteering experience over a matter of 2-3 days does not.
There’s no secret formula. Just make sure that the person reading your CV can get through it in at most 2-3 minutes, It’s not too crowded or an eyesore- use a readable font, and that it describes exactly the work you’ve done. There’s no need for pictures or logos or home addresses. CVs aren’t supposed to be fancy- they’re just a way of briefing your recruiter on the work you’ve done. Be as clear as possible. Reverse chronological order through out. Make the names of places you’ve worked at and the dates bold. If you only assisted in something say you assisted in doing x,y,z. Tell us what was the result of your work- a pil, a transaction, a research paper whatever. Use bullet points and not paragraphs. Group academics/ work experience/ research and writing and extra curricular work separately.Don’t lie- it’s so easy to catch the lies. Keep it simple and only give out pertinent information. Update it regularly- cut info that happened too long ago that doesn’t add value. No one needs to know you won some debate competition in high school, or that you like to travel and do amateur photography- this stuff takes up valuable real estate and adds nothing. And after you graduate and get your first job- you should cut all the internships straight out.
No fancy design stuff. No real need for Colors or other design elements. TNR12 line spacing 1.5, justify the body and left align the dates. maintain the same font throughout. No borders. If it’s more than 1 page at the start of your career- you need to cut. Maybe if you’re a mid level academic it can be more than 2 pages with all your publications but other than that there’s no reason to drag on for too long. No faff basically.
My suggestion is, unless your marks put you in the above average percentile, just don't include them (unless specifically asked for). So many people forget that providing your marks is not a necessity. Just format your CV in a way that education column is your college name, batch year and specialisation.
I was a way below average score getter in college but had a good internship and publication record - there was no way I would put by marks up top for the recruiter to get biased. If they really need to see your marks, they will come back and ask for it. In my case (3 tier 1 job switches later), no one has so far :)
(For context, I am a first generation lawyer with no family & friends in the field. Got my internship through lots of pestering and networking)
Thanks in advance and any help is appreciated :)
2. Don't fill your CV with isolated instances like "volunteered with hospitality in 2018 sports fest", "attended legal literacy program in 2019". No one cares. If you have consistently done it year after year (such as attended 20+ legal literacy programmes, incharge of hospitality for sport fest for 4 years) then it makes sense. One single isolated volunteering experience over a matter of 2-3 days does not.
Be as clear as possible. Reverse chronological order through out. Make the names of places you’ve worked at and the dates bold. If you only assisted in something say you assisted in doing x,y,z. Tell us what was the result of your work- a pil, a transaction, a research paper whatever. Use bullet points and not paragraphs. Group academics/ work experience/ research and writing and extra curricular work separately.Don’t lie- it’s so easy to catch the lies. Keep it simple and only give out pertinent information. Update it regularly- cut info that happened too long ago that doesn’t add value. No one needs to know you won some debate competition in high school, or that you like to travel and do amateur photography- this stuff takes up valuable real estate and adds nothing. And after you graduate and get your first job- you should cut all the internships straight out.
No fancy design stuff. No real need for Colors or other design elements. TNR12 line spacing 1.5, justify the body and left align the dates. maintain the same font throughout. No borders. If it’s more than 1 page at the start of your career- you need to cut. Maybe if you’re a mid level academic it can be more than 2 pages with all your publications but other than that there’s no reason to drag on for too long. No faff basically.
My suggestion is, unless your marks put you in the above average percentile, just don't include them (unless specifically asked for). So many people forget that providing your marks is not a necessity. Just format your CV in a way that education column is your college name, batch year and specialisation.
I was a way below average score getter in college but had a good internship and publication record - there was no way I would put by marks up top for the recruiter to get biased. If they really need to see your marks, they will come back and ask for it. In my case (3 tier 1 job switches later), no one has so far :)
(For context, I am a first generation lawyer with no family & friends in the field. Got my internship through lots of pestering and networking)