Just like what you’re wearing is usually what creates a first impression when meeting somebody (how about the interviewer!), so does the header on your documents provide the first impression to the recruiter. Let’s go deep into the first few milliseconds of that impression being created in their mind and work to create a great one!
Curriculum Vitae vs Resume
Let’s start off with the words “Curriculum Vitae”. Unless you are writing a full Curriculum Vitae (CV), do not use the words “Curriculum Vitae” on your Resume. A CV and Resume are, in fact, two separate things: a CV is a full history of your career, education and life at large and, these days, is usually used for other kinds of applications such as scholarships and bank loans, while a Resume is a 2-page document that summarises your career over the past 10 years. If a recruiter has requested a CV on the job advertisement, make sure to call them to establish if they actually mean a full CV or just a regular, 2-page Resume, as these words are often used interchangeably and even recruiters are, exactly, human.
Using a Header
What about the header as a whole? If you are using your own Microsoft Word or Google Docs document, you can always create a beautifully simple and elegant header on your document, by:
- Choosing a beautiful and elegant font that ‘speaks’ to you.
- Be bold and confident with your name right across the top of the page.
- Add your details such as address, email address, phone number and LinkedIn URL in one line, though in smaller font, directly underneath your big, bold, beautiful name.
- You can always copy & paste this into your Cover Letter also.
What about a banner for your LinkedIn Profile? I would suggest, simply choose an image that shows off one of your Top 3 Skills. Do you have an image of you at work being ‘highly organised’? Holding a meeting? Socialising with clients? You get the drift. Use this kind of image as your LinkedIn banner.
Better yet, a banner
Better yet, my suggestion is to create a header that you will not only use in your Resume & Cover Letter but also in your LinkedIn Profile. This will give all of your documents a beautifully branded and cohesive look & feel. At a psychological level, this will be pleasing to the eye, and mind, of the recruiter. The more pleasing factors your job application can have, the more natural ticks in the right direction are added to your name by the recruiter.
You may do this by going to image-creating websites, such as eg: canva.com, to create a beautiful banner that you can paste into your Resume and LinkedIn Profile.
Or if you are using a template to create your Resume, such as those available via Microsoft Word, canva.com etc., I suggest doing as follows:
- Save 2 copies: a regular document and a PDF file.
- Then you can visit a file-converting website, eg: pdf2jpg.com, and convert your PDF Resume into an image JPG file.
- Once you have an image, you can edit the image as you would any other photograph – crop the banner section out of your template Resume on said JPG file.
- You now have a beautiful banner image that you can paste into your Resume and your Cover Letter
- Also upload into your LinkedIn Profile.
I hope this has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to click on Contact and I will reply with an answer to your query as soon as I can!
Lucid Resumes 