3 Quick Ways to Show Your Personality in a CV

How to Show Your Personality in a CV

The qualifications on your CV alone cannot guarantee you the job. If they could, there would be no need for job interviews. Employers and recruiters need to meet with you and have a conversation before they can decide whether to hire you or not.

They need to understand your personality, and that’s why a one-on-one interview is very important.

Most CVs only communicate the requirements needed and professional history of a candidate. They read like the job description of the position, with nothing unique. But what if you were to show your personality in a CV?

You would be able to impress recruiters and employers even before they meet you. Your CV would not only make it to the Yes pile but also achieve priority status.

You would be a candidate already hired and the interview would only be scheduled to confirm your suitability.

So, how do you write a CV to show your personality and impress recruiters?

Here are 3 Ways to Show Your Personality in a CV

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Use Your Personal Style

Yes, the internet is awash with the best sample CVs, best CV templates and tips on how to organize a CV. But these are only generic and can be used by anyone.

They only serve as a guide and not a standard for all CVs. You are not restricted to the templates available.

If you feel you want to organize your CV a little different, go ahead. Just make sure the most important information is easily visible and can be spotted in under 10 seconds.

You don’t want recruiters to struggle to find your work experience.

Read Also >>> The First Thing Employers Will Consider on Your CV

2. Avoid Using Generic Language Where You Can

I like to believe that every individual has their own way of speech. Just because it is not used by most people does not mean it is wrong. I mean, where do you think new words come from?

How do you think new words become a thing? It’s because someone was bold enough to believe in their uniqueness. You too need to do the same.

Where you can, avoid the writing style and language ever other person uses. For instance, where one person could write “great team player” in the Skills section, you could say “Ability to work well with others”.

The two phrases mean the same thing, but they are written differently.

Write your CV like you are selling yourself in a job interview. Think about the terms you would use to describe yourself, what you do and your goals. Then use those terms on the CV.

Read Also >>> 5 Steps to Write a CV that Makes an Impact in Seconds

3. Make Sure How You Present Your CV Mirrors Your Personality

Recruiters judge you depending on your job application. If you send your CV to a different email address from the one provided, they can tell you don’t excel at following instructions.

If your CV is full of grammatical errors, they can already tell you don’t care about details. If your CV is not well formatted, they can already tell you don’t have good organizational skills.

See what I am getting at? How you present your CV when applying for open jobs tells a lot about you. It may say the wrong thing, but remember that recruiters are normal human beings like you and me.

Just like you would judge someone by how they write an SMS (xaxa instead of sasa, xema instead of sema, u instead of you, hae instead of Hi), how you present your CV is very important.

In the End…

How you show your personality in a CV does not guarantee that you will get the job interview. But it does help to sell your case to potential recruiters and employers.

Even when you don’t qualify for an interview, a CV that shows your personality could impress recruiters to a point they recommend you for other open positions.

So, what’s it going to be?