The concept of a CV is simple. But there are different types of CV we keep hearing about, which can make things confusing. Over the past couple of years, most CV-related questions asked by job hunters have changed. Although it is still of significant importance, most queries are no longer about the functional versus chronological CV styles, whether to keep or remove experience from twenty-five years ago, or adding dates of your education. With the growing use of the internet in the job search, questions have turned mostly to electronic CV creation and transmission issues. According to Top Resume, 75 percent of CV’s are rejected directly online before they reach the hiring manager.
There are so many questions around CV’s that most people don’t have the answer to because of the complexity of the different types of electronic CV’s, such as:
1. What are the different types of electronic CV’s?
2. What are the differences between an e-mail CV, a scannable CV, and a web CV?
3. How do I know which CV format to use?
4. How do I format my electronic CV to ensure that the recipient can read it?
There has been a complete revolution in the tools and techniques of job hunting in the last few years. Because applicant tracking technologies are now frequently used among headhunter firms, large corporations, and small businesses, committed CV formats and transmission methods have swiftly developed with the advancing technologies. Beyond complexity, there has been increasing accessibility of personal web space for online portfolios and biographies.
You might be wondering what this means for job hunters today. Even though the internet has opened fresh doors of opportunity in the job search process, those who haven’t taken time to learn and apply the rule can be a disaster.
Few job hunters have time to study in-depth the latest technologies and recommendations for creating electronic CV’s. However, you should take adequate time to learn and understand a few easy concepts. One of the essential pieces of knowledge for the internet job hunter is that they know their audience and the formats most widely accepted by those audiences.
• The human reader: The hardcopy, printed, traditional CV is eye-catching; it is created to attract human attention. Alongside the merits of word processing applications, cosmopolitan formatting is possible and should be applied efficiently to get the reader’s attention to your essential qualifications.
• The computer reader: Computer-optimized or electronic CV’s are designed, firstly to be readable by the computer. There are different types of electronic CV’s, but the common element is searching by keyword. Once your CV has been tagged as matching a keyword search, it will then be reviewed by a hiring manager. The content must be accessible and readable; the same applies to a traditional CV.
If you overlook these points, the effects could be disastrous. You might send out many CV’s only to sit at home and imagine why nobody, not even a single company or headhunter, has called you for an interview. There are fundamental formatting differences between traditional and electronic CV’s. In a case whereby you do not understand the differences, your CV will make it into very few, if any, CV databases.
CV FORMATS
What are the differences between keyword CV’s, scannable CV’s, traditional CV’s, and text CV’s?
=> Traditional CV’s
Traditional CV’s are designed to attract the human reader, through clear language and design, to take further action and call you for an interview. Your layout is vital and should be planned efficiently to attract the reader to the areas of importance. The most effective traditional CV’s emphasize achievements, are powerfully written, and use active language, which will draw and hold the reader’s attention.
=> Scannable CV’s
Scannable CV’s are designed basically for complete scanning into a computer. It will be captured as an image. Scannable CV’s are fed through OCR (Optical Character Recognition); this software reads and takes out the text. The extracted text is databased for storage and, after that, recalled by keyword from an applicant tracking system. Scannable CV’s are less requested nowadays. In a case whereby you’re asked for a scannable CV, the most efficient option is to email the requestor your plain ASCII text CV. According to top resume, a professionally written CV boosts your earning potential by 7 percent.
=> Text CV’s
Text CV’s and ASCII CV’s are basically what the name implies; an ASCII- formatted version could be traditional or scannable. Text CV’s are generally readable on every computer system and platform and are the most chosen format when emailing your CV. An ASCII CV is received via email; it can be entered directly into an applicant tracking system without the included steps of requiring to scan it. Entry into the system is fast, easy, and complete, which probably why most employers and recruiters choose to use this format.
=> Keyword CV’S
As it was initially used, keyword CV’s often refers to either a scannable or text CV that co-opted a focus on nouns and phrases that employers were probably using when searching for an applicant. In some cases, the keyword CV has a section at the beginning and end that listed the keywords parted by commas and periods. As of now, there’s no need to maintain a keyword and non-keyword CV. Keywords have become such an essential element in CV’s. You should make sure that every version of your CV, whether intended for the human or the computer reader, co-opted the keywords most vital in your field or company.
The below recommendation is to maintain two parted versions of your CV:
• Traditional CV -> If you intend to use this type of CV and send a hardcopy, paper version of your CV, you should mail your traditional CV. This type of CV can be stored in your computer and printed anytime you need it. For instance, you’ll able to print as many copies of your CV as you want to carry with you and hand them out at interviews. They could often ask you to send your traditional CV via email to a recruiter or employer. In such cases, you should have your traditional CV saved in the two majorly requested file formats, which are MS Word and Adobe PDF. After that, you can attach the requested file (s) to an email message and send it to the requestor to be printed on the receiving end.
Typically, the most requested file format for the traditional CV is MS Word. If you adhere to the request, you should also know that your formatting may be clashing or disagreeing with the recipient’s system. While commonly still readable, the fonts, bullet sizes, and styles may differ from what you intended. Problems like these can be reduced by embedding the fonts into the document. However, you can’t always get rid of it. This process is relatively easy, and the MS Word files will guide you through. Also, be careful while writing and designing your CV; use design elements that are default and standard on most systems.
To remove or prevent compatibility issues, if the recipient has the free Adobe Reader installed, Adobe PDF is the best format to send your traditional CV. The PDF version of your CV will show up on the recipient’s system precisely how it showed up on your system. As a result, if you’re offered the choice of sending an MS Word file and Adobe PDF file, always go for Adobe PDF.
• ASCII text CV – In a case whereby you conducted any part of your job search on the internet, ASCII formatted CV’s are critically essential tools. Your ASCII text version should always be up-to-date on your computer. This is the fastest way to contact potential employers and to apply for jobs advertised online. You should have a text version of your CV if you want to post it in online CV databanks.
As stated above, employers barely ask for scannable CV’s nowadays. If they use an applicant tracking system, they’ll possibly ask that your CV be e-mailed, either by ASCII text or as an attachment. E-mail allows the receiver to enter your CV directly into their database, preventing extra steps of scanning and OCR.
The last type of electronic CV is the web CV, also known as the online CV. This is created using HTML; your web CV may be uploaded to space offered by a web-hosting provider. This essentially removes the compatibility issues connected with word-processed CV’s sent as e-mail attachments. Accessible for viewing around the clock, bearing a technology-savvy image, and allowing the ability to include supporting content to your CV, web CV’s are undoubtedly becoming essential tools in the job search.
Preparing Internet CV’s
It’s essential to create CV content that is keyword rich, no matter the file format. You don’t have to maintain a parted keyword version of your CV. Keywords are commonly defined as nouns or phrases which an employer tends to use when searching for an applicant with your skillset. If you want to increase the recall of your CV in a job search, you should use as many keywords in your CV as possible.
Keywords in your CV will be focused around your technical and professional areas of expertise, company-related jargon, and your work history. You also have to add the names of associations and organizations of which you are a member. As much as possible, try to be specific when stating what you know how to do or what you are doing at the moment.
However, the content of a keyword CV doesn’t have to vary from the content of your traditional CV. Pay extra attention to the rhythm and flow. It is possible to set a keyword-optimized CV, which also has the strong, eye-catching, active language of a traditional CV. This won’t only ease your preparation, but will ensure that the content of every version of your CV will be optimized for both the human and computer reader.
Sadly, it is impossible to suggest a detailed list of the best keywords to use in your CV; this is because even the best keywords are different for every individual and depend majorly on your specific career objective and background. It is known however that a well-prepared CV is so crucial to your achievement in a job market that mainly relies on electronic applicant tracking systems.
How do I prepare an ASCII text version of my CV?
Strategizing the essentials for the ASCII text version of your CV is not difficult, although it does require some work. When you convert to ASCII format, you’ll be able to e-mail your CV in response to an ad or by pasting it directly into web-based forms and submitting it to an internet CV databank. The particulars will differ based on the software you’ve installed on your computer. However, in general, terms, to prepare your ASCII CV’s correctly, follow these simple steps:
1. Make use of a word processing program. Open your word-processed CV and use the Save As option to save a copy as a Text Only ASCII (DOS) document. Ensure to title the particular form with an easy to remember name.
2. You can then close the word processing program and reopen the ASCII file. You won’t be able to see the changes you’ve made until you’ve done this. You should see that it has been displayed with almost all original formatting.
3. Scan through your new ASCII document line by line. Set all text flush to the left-hand margin.
4. Get rid of all centering, right-hand margin, and justification alignments.
5. You shouldn’t be seeing them, but if still visible, remove all artwork, graphics, and unique character formatting.
6. Get rid of all tab characters.
7. Get rid of all columns.
8. Replace bullets with asterisks.
9. Check the spellings and the accuracy of your data attentively.
10. If you want to use your ASCII characters to improve your CV’s appearance, it’s also not a bad idea. You can use asterisks, plus signs, dots, or other keyboard characters; they can all be used to create visible lines and create sections in your CV, making it easier to read and understand. When pasted into a web-based form or email, your CV will automatically wrap to the size of the window.
Your new ASCII CV will be readable, regardless of what computer system the recipient uses. Also, it will be easy to exploit for access into applicant tracking databases, removing the built-in complexities of scanning and converting your paper CV with OCR systems.
There is no doubt that the internet has changed a direct process into something more complex and complicated for many job hunters. But the benefits have outweighed the costs. Right now as a job seeker, you have instant access to announcements and advertisements of job openings around the world. You also have the ability to conduct detailed research on companies of your choice, and you have a fresh opportunity to cost-effectively send your qualifications to hundreds or even thousands of hiring authorities for just a fraction of the cost of doing so via traditional methods. Whereas the new skills you must acquire may seem discouraging initially, after understanding the concepts and creating your electronic CV’s, know that you’re on your way to a productive internet job search.
