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Tips and best practices to make your CV visible and effective to recruiters

Using CV libraries can be a very useful tool in a job search... But for that, you need to do it correctly! Nowadays, many sites offer this service to candidates: recruitment agencies, job sites (ABG, Indeed, etc.), temporary employment agencies, and many others... The CVs deposited in the CV libraries are then classified by sector of activity: agri-food, materials, chemistry, communication, electronics, consulting, telecoms... But how can you stand out from the hundreds of CVs competing with yours? Here are some tips and best practices to help you stand out!
 

  • In a CV library, you can upload your CV in several formats. Choose Word or PDF format, as these are the most visible and also the most used (the pdf being more secure, as it guarantees that your layout will not be altered afterwards). A JPEG file, which is an image-only format, will not allow recruiters to find you through keywords, so it should be excluded. Don't forget also to take care of the presentation of your CV, so that it is very clear and, therefore, pleasant to read.
     
  • If you want your CV to be visible, you should first give it a title that mentions the type of job you are looking for. We recommend indicating the function and the sector of activity targeted (for example: aeronautical engineer, or project manager in pharmacovigilance, etc.). This is essential, as recruiters almost always search by key words in CV libraries (or on social networks). In order to stand out from the crowd, be as specific as possible in your title by mentioning your speciality. In addition, do not hesitate to add a few lines under the title of your CV in order to describe your professional project, your know-how and your motivations. This introductory paragraph will highlight the match between your aspirations, your background and the position you are seeking.
     
  • Remember to detail your skills, always with relevant keywords. Also, take care of your spelling! In order for your skills to be detected in the CV database, try to stand out by including terms specific to your profession, such as perfect mastery of a particular software program, your various professional missions or your skills, which are part of the expected competencies of the type of job you are seeking.
AttentionIt is very important to update your CV, in order to appear at the top of the list in the CV library. Of course, this is also an opportunity to add new professional and/or extra-professional experiences with the job title, the structure, the objective of the research project (not the title of your thesis, which can be made accessible via a link), your major achievements, supported if possible, by some figures), but also a change of contact details...

Try to update your profile every two or three months, even if you only change a sentence or a word. This will further increase your visibility and move up the CV library! 

  • Very often, we tend to neglect the part that concerns our interests in our CV, or more generally everything that concerns extra-professional activities. However, it is these elements that will help you stand out from other profiles that are equivalent to yours in terms of skills or level of experience. Indeed, they highlight your personality, and thus provide recruiters with additional information. Note, however, that what is expected is not simply a list of hobbies such as "cinema", "reading" or "travel". Ideally, this space is should be used to challenge, to surprise, or to make people dream, make them curious about you and perhaps eager to learn more... In a word, anything that could possibly create an exchange. This will allow your CV to hit the nail on the head, and possibly provide grist for the interview to come!