How to prepare a CV that can get you shortlisted for an interview at blue chip international companies!

I recently helped my client land a job at Tesla as an Automation Engineer and will be working in Germany from South Africa. Here is how I revamped his CV.

1. Removed career objective and replaced with a professional summary: Career Objective shifts the focus away from what YOU can do / why they should hire you / what problem you can solve. Instead of a Career Objective, I replaced with a streamlined professional summary highlighting industry experience, key skills, achievements and impact. The professional summarized highlighted why my client was the best candidate for the role instead of what he wanted. Instead of having a long professional summary, I limited it to 5 lines because after all it’s a summary/snapshot.

2. Google XYZ Formula: Google describes this as: "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." But just to make it easier to remember, let's shorten it to X-Y-Z.?I focused on my clients accomplishments -- quantitative results and the impact made as a result. As an example you can say, "Grew revenue for 15 small and medium business clients by 10% in 12 months of joining the company by mapping new software features as solutions to their business goals."

2. Focused on Technical Skills: Technical roles calls your CV to have technical skills as major highlights in the top part of your CV (1st quarter). I included programming languages, knowledge of systems and tools and GitHub link at the top of the contact information. I also listed major projects in a separate section including programming languages, tools and systems used for each project.

3. Personal information:?I removed personal Information including full Home Address, ID Number, number of dependents, health info, date of birth, marital status, and religion. As much as we don’t like it, discrimination in recruitment and selection exist so, I made sure that my client won’t be discriminated in any way by removing other personal information.

4. Buzzwords. I removed buzzwords and if you don’t know it, these are words that, as a result of being over-used, have now lost their impact. Words/phrases such as, "hard-working, "motivated", "diligent".?I wanted my client to stand out and replaced buzzwords with action verbs and the impact he can make by focusing on quantifiable achievements.?

5. Unnecessary fluff: Recruiters spend less than 6 seconds reviewing each CV and I knew that my client only had 6 seconds to show them that his CV is worth their time to continue reading so I quickly get to the point. Your CV does not need a title like, "Curriculum Vitae of.." after all its saved in your full name.

6. Standardized format: A CV follows a standardized format, with standard headlines and does not need to have details of every single thing you've done throughout your existence. I ensured that my client’s CV has a well-articulated Unique Value Proposition which followed a clear, readable structure. Instead of writing a Wikipedia page, I went straight to the point.