The free CV Templates are much more popular than the paid ones. Why? because they are free. While a free template seems a good option for your CV, its drawbacks must not be ignored. If you are not getting any response against your job applications then your free CV template might be responsible for it.
Imagine finding your dream job advertisement. Your heart took a slight jump, right?. You go on the internet, find a free CV template, spend hours filling it, and BOOM the employer rejects you in under 30 seconds. All kinds of thoughts will cross your mind, except that it is not you who got rejected but it is actually your CV. We often do not understand and tend to ignore the negative impacts of using the free CV templates. But do not worry, this article will guide you with a detailed explanation.
Your CV is indeed a critical part of your job application and could be your ticket for getting employed. Especially for scoring the interview, it is very important to perfect your CV. Since recruiters or employers have never met us, our CV helps in our introduction. But that introduction can be pretty brief if you are playing by the same old rule. What people do not realize is how free templates available on the internet can easily ruin their chances of getting noticed. Keep reading to find out how.
be different
Employers screen out hundreds of resumes every day and nothing bores them more than looking at similar or commonly used CV templates. They also have the ability to easily spot similar ones even from a pool of thousands of CVs. So, it is crucial to avoid using similar CV templates.
One of the commonplace to find a free template is indeed the Microsoft Office templates section. From there, anyone can easily access free CV templates. It is important to understand that millions of people use Microsoft Office on a daily basis. This makes a lot easier for people to use and share the same template among their circles thus ruining your chance of standing out from others when applying for a job.
If you are thinking “I have downloaded some really creative templates.” Then sorry to burst your bubble but if you can do that, so does millions of other candidates. After all, we all have an internet connection and access to Microsoft Office. All it takes is some basic research skill to find a free CV template.
So, in order to stand out from others and compel the hiring manager to choose you. It is important that your CV has some standout features and is interesting which can easily attract the recruiters’ attention. You need to out-shine through a unique CV template. This is why you should always ensure that your CV compelling and creative enough to keep the recruiters’ engaged in your CV.
Limited customization features:
Your resume advertises you thus it should be customized as per your needs. While some templates give you very little or even no control over editing and customizations. There are also those templates with a permanent watermark on the downloaded version thus hindering professionalism.
To be different, a good CV template should have a consistent organization of colors, font, and headings. It must include sections such as achievements, awards, and education. By properly defining section, the ATS and CV reviewer both will be able to easily identify and find the data rapidly and productively. This is indeed not the case for free CV templates because their limited features do not allow room for too many amendments.
Fresh graduates and new entrants with no hands-on experience tend to ignore the importance of the aforementioned CV sections and key components. They use unique fonts (ATS non-friendly) and bright colors which could easily work against them if they are applying in a professional industry.
Keep it original and do not copy
Your CV originality attracts recruiters’ interest and compels them to spend more time in your CV. This often results in shortlisting the candidate for the interview over all the hundreds of other applicants. So, always make sure originality because many employment searchers essentially download and start subbing in their information. When it comes to mimicking the data using a free CV template. The recruiters never acknowledge such sort of CVs, above all, they don’t even focus on them, on the grounds that there is minimal honest data there.
On the Internet, there are numerous models available but these vast number of CV alternatives makes it extremely difficult for a newcomer to make sense of what the employer requires of him. Thus, resulting in misjudgment in choosing the CV template due to limited knowledge.
There are some fields including doctors and lawyers which requires certain kind of templates which is why it is important to consult a professional. Even if you choose the right template, the content and formatting errors could easily ruin your chance. It is critical to understand the process and how it matters that you sell yourself to the recruiters in the right way.
Never take the Shortcut
Do you want your CV to literally shout and tell the recruiter that “I took a shortcut”? No, right? But your CV template might be doing just that. The online ready to use free CV templates give out the signal to the recruiters that you have put in very little to no effort into your CV. And this leads to the next thought in their mind that you will most probably continue to do that even at your job. It could be a real disaster for your job application even if you are totally qualified and meets all the required criteria. So, remember that finding the easiest possible ways to get things done could even up in a big set back for you.
In addition to this, your CV`s file type plays a major role in getting noticed. Those websites that let you directly send your CV will result in a customized URL for example yourname.resumebuilder.com may become time-consuming for the recruiter to find your resume at a website. And not to mention the potential confusion when an employer decides to check out your resume website and comes across a dead link. Try not to be too smart because sometimes it is better if you play by the same old rules.
At war with Applicant Tracking System
What is an Applicant Tracking System? It is a software that minimizes the workload of the recruiters by screening out the irrelevant candidates and throwing them into the bin. This way there is a relatively smaller applicant pool left for the recruiters to further shortlist and evaluate candidates. After initial screening from ATS, they focus on those CVs which actually meet the criterion.
The ATS software collects the CVs, sort them into categories, scan for specific keywords, and rank as per the levels of candidates who meet the required criteria. There is a high chance that due to using non-ATS-friendly templates your CV may not even reach the employer’s desk.
Are you wondering where to look for ATS friendly CV Templates? Do not worry because there are many professional CV writing service providers who are offering them. Check out their ATS friendly CV templates to land your dream job. Now that you have understood that free CV templates are a big no-no. Here are some CV Do`s and Don’ts for you.
Do: Tailor Your Resume
Your entire CV, be it your skills or your experiences. They should be tailored according to the specific job you are applying to. To do this, keep a copy of the job advertisement in front of you, and highlight all the important keywords in it such as skills, experience, education, and responsibilities required in the job description.
The next step is to incorporate these keywords into your CV. Mention your education for the specific field you are applying to. An example could be someone applying for a Marketer role but has a degree in dance will write about his/her certifications in marketing instead of a dancing degree. Because it is completely irrelevant and takes up the important space that can be otherwise utilized for relevant information. Likewise, your teaching experience might not have any relation with your marketing skills and might not actually be considered by the recruiter who is looking for a marketer.
CV Fact: Always make a clean and precise CV. Your CV should not be too long or more than three pages in any case, except if you are a doctor).
All of the details present in the job advertisement may not be directly related to the position. But you should definitely highlight them to validate some of the soft skills that both positions require such as teamwork and communication, etc. Remember, your CV is a document to display your set of skills and achievements. Make sure it proves that you are the perfect fit for the job.
Don’t: List out Soft Skills
You may be a highly-motivated-individual-who-has-amazing-communication-skills but these generic qualities (soft skills) cannot be mentioned in your skills section of the resume. The recruiters would want to see the proof of how you make a rapid learner instead of just the adjective.
The proof should be in the form of a bullet point proving your story of being a rapid learner at work with an example. It should describe how you adapted to the previous company’s technical software in no time.
You can also use your skills section to showcase the hardcore qualities such as programming languages, computer software, etc. Again, these skills should be tailored for the specific job description as mentioned above.
Do: Remark your Importance to Them
Your CV should revolve around the benefits the employer is going to gain from you. These benefits basically answer the ‘WHY YOU’ part of the question. Okay, we get it that you want to land in a job because it is a ‘great opportunity to learn’. But trust me you do not need to mention it. The recruitesr will not offer you the job if you don’t benefit them in any way. This is why your CV should not revolve around what you will learn by being a part of the company.
Your CV is not there for the recruiter to know why people are keen about joining their company. Its main purpose is to tell the employer, why they should choose you? and what is different in you than others?. The answer to these questions is your past experiences, education, and skills. In a short talk about you being a great fit for the company and not the other way around.
Don’t: Use Clichés
Nowadays, almost every CV has to go through the Applicant Tracking System during the initial screening phase. This is why you should always use industry-specific and job-related keywords to ensure it easily recognizes the content.
Always make sure to avoid using basic words such as hardworking or motivated, etc. Instead, spot important words from the job description and include them in your CV to stand out.
Do: Use statistics
Did you know? The recruiters look at your CV for not more than 6 seconds. You may be wondering how can someone read everything in 6 seconds? Well, actually it’s humanely difficult which is why the recruiters do not read your CV but just skims through it.
Here’s a tip: In order to make the recruiters actually read your hard work. Use statistics because there is a specific region of the brain that is devoted to sensing numbers quickly. WOW, right? Also, specificity especially that forms images in our brain are eye-catchy and creates a sense of clarity as to what is the magnitude of impact.
Next time instead of mentioning your work also inform the recruiters about its results. An example could be; instead of just saying ‘Conducted a session stressing the importance of punctuality’ you can say ‘Conducted a session stressing the importance of punctuality which improved the attendance of 80% of employees’. This will make your work easier to visualize.
Do: Review
This is the last step before you finally hit the ‘send’ button. Take a bird’s eye view and check where recruiters eyes should land to. That part has to be the most important and thus be at the top of the CV.
Keep in mind that the recruiters would not give more than 6-10 seconds on reading. So, make sure that your CV is short and to the point, to ensure the recruiter does not miss important information that will make or break the decision of your future.
Not to forget, nothing is more unfavorable than a glaring typo. So keep in check for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, get a third person’s view on your CV, or just sit back and relax and let the experts do the hard work for you!
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