How to write a winning CV

So much has been written about creating a winning CV. I remember a four hour lecture in school on what it takes to have an excellent CV. With time, I have come to realise that the same way we say that beauty is in the eyes on the beholder is the same way a CV can be looked at; all depends on the recruiter.What is clear is that there is a minimum requirement of what a CV should have. I think this is where most job applicants miss the point, with particular reference to young professionals looking for their first break in the corporate world.Since switching careers to human resource, I have seen CVs of all kinds; from half a page to 40 pages, in all colours, fonts, printed on different materials and formats – some even have graphs, charts and tables.Though the presentation or the look of your CV will be appealing to the eye of the recruiter, it is mainly what it contains that will set you apart from the pack.Many of us think that the more pages, the more ‘heavier’ the CV will be. I disagree.Someone once said that simplicity is the highest level of sophistication, so try as much as possible to keep your CV as simple and brief. Remember that your recruiter does not have the time to go through a ‘bulky’ CV or they will get bored by the time they the last page.Recently, I received a nicely-bound CV and was eager to see how different it was from the others I had received that day.The person had dedicated the first page to a nicely-taken studio photo, the second page was about his bio, giving contact details of his parents and other close family relatives, the third page had all the responsibilities he had taken from school as early as nursery, church, various wedding and Gusaba committees. He also dedicated each page to each level of education from primary to university, detailing all the subjects and course units and, in some instances, explaining them. To be honest with you, by the time I got to the end, I couldn’t remember what exactly applicant had specialised in.I have noticed something else; due to the computer age, the copy-paste syndrome has grown remarkably. Last year, I received three CVs with different names, same phone number, different birthdates, same universities, same email address and all had topped their classes in the same university and same faculty and year. This was more than a coincidence, so I made a follow up to determine which one was genuine. To date, I am still waiting for them to bring their original academic documents. I am not saying it is wrong to copy a CV format, but use the format to customise it to meet your own specifications.Writing a CV is that one chance we get to portray ourselves as perfect, marketing ourselves like the world’s top brands do. So, always put in more effort. Below are some must haves of a CV I would look at as a recruiter: Write a brief about yourself, describing your abilities and skills in less than three sentences. This is followed by your personal and contact details – you don’t have to include your parents’ names or where they stay.Bring out your career aspirations and what you see as your unique contribution to a potential employer, in one or two sentences. You should differentiate yourself from the hundreds of other applicants, who, like you, are hoping to get through that door and clinch the job.Follow this with a brief about your academic qualifications and employment record. Be as brief as possible on this, focusing on the job title, the duration on that job and a brief of the role.Then, write a line or two about your other interests and then follow this with your referees. It is always advisable to have a character referee, an academic referee – preferably someone, who has taught you before, and then a former employer.With not so many words you will have yourself two to three pages of a brief, but interesting CV, which will keep the recruiter interested to the last line.Do not let that opportunity pass you by.The writer is a human capital executive at