Support displaced talent to create effective CVs

Before submitting a CV to an employer, talent-facing organizations can support displaced talent to help create an effective CV research to increase their chances of being selected for an interview.

Guidelines for creating an effective CV

Some helpful guidelines for supporting displaced talent to strengthen their CVs include:

Include essential information

Every resume should include the basic information employers are looking for:

• Profile and skills sections
  • Name
  • A brief personal summary in three sentences:
    • Current employment or “Who am I?” statement
    • Achievements and value to company
    • Career goals
• Work experience
  • Each position held and names of companies
  • Dates of employment for each role
  • Description of responsibilities and achievements 
• Education
  • Name and location of institution 
  • Dates of enrollment
  • Degree earned (or begun)
• Technical Skills
  • Short bullet points
  • Focusing on skills relevant to job
  • Include certificates and completed training courses

Include optional information

• Achievements
  • Optional
  • Technical Achievements/Awards
  • Special projects that were completed
• Languages
  • Every language and level of proficiency
• Interests and Hobbies
  • Optional
  • Highlights positive personal attributes such as dedication or creativity
• References
  • Optional
  • At least 3 professional (coworkers/managers) contacts who will have positive feedback
  • Include their names, position, and contact information
  • Can also say “references available upon request”

Tailor the CV to the destination country

Each country and region has different conventions around what information is appropriate and helpful to include on a CV. For example, in some countries, employers welcome a photograph of the applicant. In other countries, employers are put off by the inclusion of a photo. In some countries, it is standard to include your nationality, date of birth, or marital status on a CV. In other countries, this information is considered inappropriate.

Tailor the CV to the job and sector

The most effective way to secure an interview is to tailor a CV to a particular job. Organizations can support displaced talent to review a job description in detail to ensure the CV explicitly references the desired skills, experiences, technologies, and dispositions an employer is seeking.

While a CV always represents someone’s experience and education, tailoring it means highlighting and emphasizing the parts of someone’s experience that are most important to a specific employer. Employers review CVs very rapidly, either taking a quick glance or having a digital tool scan for relevant keywords. To make sure a CV for a strong candidate is not overlooked, it is important to make sure the CV is well-matched to the job description of a role.

A good strategy for tailoring a CV for a job is to analyze the job description for key words and make sure those keywords are reflected in the CV.  Free online tools like Resume Worded or Skill Syncer can highlight areas where a CV could be improved for a specific job.  Adding concrete examples and numbers to showcase a candidate’s work and impact is also essential.

In addition, specific sectors expect that specific information be included in the CV. Do research on the field and whether there are specific requirements. For example, the field of engineering requires detailed information to be added on past projects the candidate has worked on. The information might include duration, budget, team size, key objectives, and the candidate’s specific contribution to the project.

Proofread and polish

Take time to review the formatting, spelling, grammar, consistency, and appearance of the CV before submitting. Employers will pay attention to how much time, care, and attention to detail was put into the CV.

Resources and templates for writing strong CVs

• Indeed’s free CV/resume builder
• Visit LinkedIn’s Refugee Resource Center
• Visit Talent Beyond Boundaries CV resources’s page

For more specific guidance on CV creation use TBB’s in-depth guide to General CV Structure