5 Tips to build your CV during Lockdown
COVID-19 has pushed the world to change its usual ways, and today we are doing a lot of things we couldn’t previously imagine doing digitally e.g. online photoshoots, learning new hobbies via video calls, etc. As the world is adapting to the “new normal,” you need to adapt too! Potential employers and institutions will want to know what did you do with all the extra time while you work from home so here are 5 ways you can amp up your CV and make sure it’s ready for the post COVID world:
1: Work on your Skill Sets
We all have some extra time being home, it’s time to brush up your skills or even learn a new one! You can head over to platforms like SkillShare, CreativeLive and choose the skills you want to work on, though make sure it is relevant to something you want to pursue in the future. This will help your CV get some fresh brownie points. If you want, you can also volunteer online with ConnectFor to brush up on your existing skillsets so you’re making a difference while building your skills — it’s win-win!
2: Rework on your CV
Recruiters receive multiple CVs regularly, and you must make sure to catch their attention. Though it is assumed that CVs should have a certain format, you can add a bit of creativity and make it stand out, like making it into a video, or creating an Instagram account for it, or even spicing it up with some good graphics. This can be easily done with help available online designing tools like Canva, Adobe Spark, etc.
3: Start a new course
It’s finally the right time to start that course you were planning to take since forever but couldn’t due to lack of time. Take up a course which will be relevant to the industry you will be entering. If you don’t want to invest your money on expensive courses, you can explore free platforms like edx.org, coursera.org, etc. This will show that you were not sitting idle but were choosing to learn something new and improve yourself.
4: Update your LinkedIn Profile
Your online presence is as important as your CV, especially your LinkedIn profile. Make sure it’s up to date with your current job profile, and not showing the first internship you did as your only experience. Get recommendations from your colleagues, make sure you have linked all the certificates you have obtained in the past which are relevant to your profile, and most importantly have an appropriate profile picture! Pro Tip: Not one which would go on your Instagram or Facebook as a profile picture, but something more professional.
5. Attend Online Sessions
We know enough people would have told you that you should attend webinars online or master classes, but there are so many more options for online sessions being conducted nowadays. You can attend an open mic, online workshops, or even a small online volunteering session! One may think that this is extra in a CV but the person hiring may be mining your CV to see what you were up to during the lockdown, and these online sessions would show you were out there exploring new things!
These are our top 5 tips for upgrading your CV during the lockdown, and helping you showcase your best self!
Blog by Katyayani Rana, Volunteer Team, ConnectFor.
