Some things may turn out to be more complicated than you expected. Writing a powerful, catchy, and interesting CV can be one of these. If you want the employer to choose you instead of another candidate, a good curriculum must have some key factors.

In other words, you can be really close to getting your lifetime job, but you end up behind someone that proved to be more interesting and made the difference with some details in their resume.

It is not always easy to be creative, especially as the CV doesn’t really have a structure that allows us to do so. You can find lots of templates online. However, the question is: which one to choose, how to improve it, how could you bring a personal touch and which one of them could "sell" you better. In the end, the CV is a personal marketing tool. It will be the first contact with the employer, and it will make them interested in your profile.

Before giving you some tips to write a powerful curriculum, there is an important thing to know: less can be more, it is true, although the simplest doesn't always work. For example, many people use Europass (European curriculum) but, as each of us has their career and personal paths, with different experiences, it may be very reductive and not emphasize your profile as you wish. 

Nonetheless, there is the other side of the coin: according to the purpose and the position you are applying for, it won't be necessary to put too much information that the employer probably won't read and may exclude your curriculum at the outset. The ideal is to find a balance, not longer than 2 pages, including personal and professional experiences that are relevant to the position you're applying for. Tell your story in an objective way, but interesting at the same time.

Where to start? 

Here’s the information that you should always include:  
 
1 – Your personal details: name, contacts (telephone, mobile and email), nationality, address. As we live in the era of digital and social media, it can be appropriate to add a link to your social networks, such as LinkedIn.

2 – Education and training: mention your level of education and training area, as well as the teaching institute of your studies. Contrary to what we often do, the order should be from the most recent to the oldest. For example, if you have a master's degree, you should mention it before your bachelor's degree.

3 – Work experience: by the same logic, you should put the most recent experience first. For each work experience it is important to describe your tasks/duties and the dates of your employment.

How can I stand out?  
 

Without a doubt, work experience is very important for employers. Nonetheless, your profile may stand out for other things that are not related with your profession and you may think are not relevant. For example, being a member of associations, a class representative or scouting can demonstrate strong initiative and leadership skills.

You can include these at the end of your curriculum in the section "Other activities or personal interests": a small business of yours, an Erasmus programme or any living abroad experiences, volunteering, sports, hobbies. The work experience might be the same as other 100 candidates and you can stand out thanks to any of these factors that could let you earn some extra points. 

Be aware that you should start off on the right foot, you can build a trustful relationship with the employer by submitting your CV. Therefore, you should never lie or put false information in any of the sections. During the interview the employer may want to discuss any of the topics in your curriculum, so if the information is not correct you may be in trouble. 

Finally, the CV is a marketing document about you, and you are the product you wish to sell. It is like having a brief meeting with a potential employer, in other words, a gateway to the interview.