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What makes a résumé perfect that attracts recruiters? Learn what you should not put in your curriculum vitae. Here are resume writing tips to improve your CV for the next targeted job.

When writing a curriculum vitae, many people put it together with the philosophy of "spaghetti on the wall": throw everything they can and expect something to stick. But recruiters and hiring managers look for quality information, not quantity. After all, you only have 7 seconds to capture the attention of a recruiter, so make sure you communicate quickly with positive things. That is why it is convenient to cut the information that you present in your CV.


Take for example the portfolio of an artist. 

"Any serious professional will tell you that your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece. The same can be said of the skills you list in your CV: less is more," says Aurora Meneghello, career coach and founder of Repurpose Your Purpose.

Are you trying to improve your CV? Start by removing these activities that are not attractive to recruiters.

1. A language that you only studied in high school

Sure, you took French in high school for a few months, but are you really on a level where you feel comfortable holding daily conversations with native speakers or reading in that language? You shouldn't put it on your resume if the answer is "no."

"It does not matter if you have a basic or intermediate understanding of a language. Unless you master it and you can use it for work, leave it out," suggests Meneghello.

In the worst case, the recruiter could speak the same language and try to start a conversation. If you discover that you are lying about that skill, you can bet that you will not be invited to go ahead in the hiring process.

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2. Basic computer skills such as email and Microsoft Word

At this point in history, knowing how to use email or Microsoft Word is almost equivalent to understanding how to read or handle basic math. That is, they are not differentiators, but you are expected to know how to use these tools.

"By adding these 'skills,' it may appear that the candidates are trying to 'inflate' their resume - that is, they are putting anything on their CV because they do not have enough relevant skills," says Peter Riccio, founding partner of the company recruiting Atlas Search.

An exception to this would be if you've perfected a particular practice using these programs, like "[creating] an access database from scratch and importing data from Excel to do Big Data analysis," says career coach Mary Warriner.

3. Use of social networks (outside of work)

You may have millions of followers on Twitter, thousands of friends on Facebook and many likes on Instagram, but managing your brand and managing a company's professional brand are two entirely different things. Working in social media in a professional setting often requires more than merely posting compelling content - usually involving data analysis, payment experience, and more.

"You can be very good at posting photos of your friends and even sharing news about your current business, but if you're not applying for a social networking position, you should not boast what you know how to do on Facebook," says Warriner. "Better check the job offer to see the skills required and be sure to list the significant skills you have."

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4. The so-called " soft skills "

These skills are a bit difficult to manage because recruiters do not love to see them in CVs. However, you must prove them with facts. For example, saying that you are an excellent communicator means nothing if you can not prove it with concrete examples.

"The most common mistake among job seekers is to make a list of soft skills in their CV. For example, they say they are good communicators, they know how to do various tasks at the same time, they have leadership skills, they are good at solving problems, etc. The message you send by putting these things on your resume is 'I don't know what my best skills are, that's why I put them all together so you can see them,' "says Riccio.

Instead of listing your soft skills, you better demonstrate them.

"Communicate your skills in the body of your CV. For example, instead of putting 'leadership,' write that you have conducted multiple simultaneous projects with positive results, "advises Riccio.

5. Exaggerations or lies

Job seekers often include words they see on job applications to embellish their CVs. But if you do not have the skills requested in the job offer, do not include them in your resume. You may think that you are going to get away with it, but it will eventually come to light.

"If you are not an excellent oral communicator, do not put it on your CV. If the job requires you to get up and talk in front of a group of people every day, you would probably be miserable if you lie, "Warriner says.

That does not mean that you must have ALL the skills listed in the job offer. A good rule of thumb is that you can have 80-90% of the features required to get the attention of recruiters.

6. Outdated Technology

Software and technology used in the workplace can change quickly, so it is essential to stay current in its use. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like you cannot keep yourself in a dynamic workplace.

"Businesses are looking for sophisticated, flexible professionals who understand technology. By including your use of obsolete technology in the skills section of your resume, you give employers the impression that your knowledge is stale and that it will take a long time to learn new skills, "says Riccio. "In a market as competitive as today, employers want to invest in people who have demonstrated the ability to learn quickly."

So leave out things like coding languages that are no longer widely used, old versions of modern software programs and other irrelevant technologies.

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7. Irrelevant information and joke skills

This may sound obvious, but some people still put things in their CV as "expert guacamole cook" or "certified ping pong champion."

"Do not include skills that are irrelevant to the job you are applying for.I'm incredibly proud to have made the best cookies from a colony contest, but I work in human resources.I do not put that on my resume!" Says Warriner.

Sure, there are probably some recruiters who will find those funny or charming details. But when you apply for a job, you do not know who will appreciate that joke and who does not, so it's better to side with professionalism.

The best students enjoy writing essays because they’re a chance to shine; they’re an interesting intellectual exercise in which the writer must craft thoughtful arguments on complex topics within the confines of a prescribed and often restrictive word count.

It is the dream of every student to at least write one persuasive essay in their lifetime. What is the reason behind it? A remarkable piece gives you better grades and also saves you never-ending trips and time to have your work corrected by your professor and get it revised. It also makes you earn respect among your classmates as one who has a seamless essay. Well, you can transform this into a never-ending experience as opposed to a one-off by reading the tips of creative essay writers mentioned below. The power is solely in your hands.

Create quality content:

Remember to create logically argumentative essays, backed up with citations from widely referenced sources. This ascertains that your work is strikingly rich in content. No matter the type of article in question; whether it is needed by an under-grad or the more advanced scholastics, all essays should be proficiently written. This is the basis of our emphasis when we talk of authentic writing. You should entirely entrust this work in your own hands.

Stay focused: 

Do not procrastinate but begin working on your essay immediately it is assigned to you. Work on the go, unlike many other online writers. Take ample time to put bits and pieces together, without necessarily over-extending on the agreed timeline. Hurried essays have no striking power; they are apparently submitted when undone. It only takes the eye of a keen student to spot such; sadly most of these sub-standard essays reach the institutions in this sorry and wanting state despite the hefty rates paid. You can also get the essay help if you are unable to come up.

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Write for your audience: 

Once you are through with the actual writing, subsequently put on your revision gears and engage your creative minds into sentence restructuring mode. Putting more focus on transitions and sequence of penalties, adding extra data and doing away with the irrelevant details, in the bid to make the intended message in your essay more comprehensible to your targeted audience. All revisions, editing, and proofreading should be done extensively to produce an outstanding artistic piece. Make certain that your essay conforms to the specifications laid out standards by the academic organization.

Get professional help: 

Most of the times, essay writing is considered to be a menial task which is unnecessary in the field of education. Therefore, many people know how to write it correctly. If you are one of the students who require something special for their audience, get essay help from custom writing firms. They will create customized content for your articles. You can be ensured about high grades because experts do your job very well!

Read other people’s essays

Just as the books you read subconsciously help mold your writing style, so reading other people’s articles can help you develop and build on your essay-writing style. Try to learn a range of other essays, including those of your peers and academics. Read articles on a wide variety of subjects, not necessarily just those that you are studying; different disciplines might apply different kinds of arguments or styles, so the more extensive you read, possible techniques there are for you to pick up and use in essays of your own.

As you read other people’s essays, don’t just take them at face value. Be critical: what do you like about them? What don’t you like about them? How persuasive do you think they are? Is the argument a balanced one, with points adequately supported with evidence? Has the writer used any techniques you’ve not seen before?

Another good source of essays is the broadsheet newspapers. Read the opinion pieces and dissect how the author has supported their points with evidence, and again, be critical; note where they’ve left things out to try to persuade you to a particular opinion. Essays should be balanced, so you can learn from the best of these writers and pick up some techniques to help you shape a balanced piece.

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Build your vocabulary and use it properly

A good vocabulary will allow you to express exactly what you mean, as clearly and concisely as possible. An economy with words is a characteristic of all good essays because readers (and essay-markers) don’t like having their time wasted with long, rambling points that could have been expressed in half the number of words.

One way of ensuring that you can communicate clearly and to the point is through accurate and efficient use of advanced vocabulary. A good essay writer should never rest on their laurels when it comes to vocabulary; it’s something you should be working on continually, as there are always new words to learn that could help convey a point more effectively. What’s more, deploying an excellent vocabulary displays intelligence and allows you to be more persuasive in your essay-writing. Here are some ways in which you can build your vocabulary:

– Subscribe to a ‘word a day’ email (such as this one from Merriam-Webster). Create a folder in your email account for new word emails, so that you can file each email away and have them all in one place ready to flick through and learn from in an idle moment.

– Read widely, and refer to a dictionary for words you do not know as you go along; this way, you will learn the new word as well as seeing it in context, so you know how to use it properly. Read different genres of fiction, and non-fiction covering a range of topics, and you will have the bonus of widening your general knowledge as well as your vocabulary.

Use a thesaurus

If you find yourself using the same words over and over again, add variety to your language by looking up those words in a dictionary and finding other words that mean the same thing. A word of warning: words you find in a thesaurus can’t always be used interchangeably; even words with similar meanings can differ subtly in a way that makes them inappropriate in certain contexts, so find examples of a word used correctly before you use a new word for the first time.

Learn prefixes, suffixes, and roots

It sounds boring, but this shortcut will help you learn a great many more words. Many roots come from Latin and Greek words, such as “bene” in Latin, meaning “good,” which gives rise to words such as “benefactor,” “benevolent” and “benefit.” It’s often possible to deduce the meaning of a new word if you know its root and read it in context. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word to change the meaning, such as “semi” or “ante,” while suffixes are added to the end, such as “-able” or “-ance.”

Start a vocabulary book

you probably have one if you’re learning a foreign language, so why not have one for your native language as well? Buy yourself a cute notepad and use it to collect new words and their meanings. The act of writing down the definition will help you remember it, and you could include an example of how the word is used to increase your chances of memorizing it for use in essays. It may help to have different sections for words on particular themes; you could have a general section, and then further parts of the notebook could be dedicated to words of use in history essays, science articles and so on.
Put the new words you’ve learned to good use right away, perhaps setting yourself the challenge of including a minimum number of new ones in each essay you write. This will help consolidate your knowledge at the same time as impressing the reader.

One important thing to remember, though: 

don’t use big words just for the sake of it. Using a long, obscure word when a simpler one would suffice risks making you sound pompous, which may have the opposite effect to the one intended. What’s more, be wary of adding words for the sake of it; cut the waffle by reviewing each sentence and removing any words or sentences that don’t add anything to what you’re saying. Ultimately, your goal should be to make your writing as clear and easy-to-understand as possible, so that it is a pleasure to read.

In a nutshell, you can be guaranteed that your submitted essay is read and understood. Any reader gets captured by an excellent introduction and wants to keep on reading. We undoubtedly aim at giving you invaluable support to guarantee a warm reception of your written task to your teacher and classmates at large! Reach perfection by reading these surefire ways. They will help you achieve academic excellence in a short time. You just need to practice a lot and stay determined.

Instantly improve your writing skills with these simple yet powerful writing tips for becoming a better writer. Whether you are drafting term papers or a creative article, you can dramatically attract people to read the second line, the next line, and the next one and so on of your article. Here are four things you should remember and follow.

Although most research papers and chapter summaries have the same basic requirements regardless of the discipline — Media Communications, Psychology, etc.— Business papers have a few unique challenges that deserve elaboration.

Improve Writing Skills

Beware the Cliché

While clichés may be grammatically acceptable, they make for tedious reading and can reflect negatively on the writer in terms of originality. Business papers especially seem to contain many clichés, but this issue can be resolved with a few simple actions.

Recognize Clichés — In order to eliminate clichés from your writing, you must first learn to identify them. A cliché is a word or phrase that has been so overused that it has lost all meaning or impact. It is perceived as boring and unoriginal.

Examples: “it's neither here nor there,” “think outside of the box,” “win-win situation,” “look out for number one,” whole nine yards,” “last but not least,” etc.
You may hear these so often that you don't even realize that they are clichés, but they are. If it's a word or phrase that you've heard or seen repeated over and over, then it's likely that it qualifies in this category.

Identify Your Intent — If you are uncertain of this, then it makes it more difficult to omit clichés. For example, if you use the term “bottom line” throughout your paper, why? If you are making a statement about a company's goal or objective, why not say something like, “Company XYZ's primary goal is to make a profit” rather than “The bottom line is that Company XYZ must be profitable.”

Determine an Appropriate Substitute — Do you need to re-phrase or can you simply eliminate the cliché altogether? For example, the cliché “whole nine yards” can easily be replaced with a simple “everything.” The term “last but not least” can be removed as it is redundant; the reader will realize it is the last item while reading it.  You haven't changed the meaning in either example but have instead communicated it clearly and concisely.

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Avoid/Minimize Slang

Some common slang that appears in Business papers includes: “corporate ladder,” “ducks in a row,” “touch base,” and “bring to the table.”  While these still might be verbally acceptable in the business world, they should be avoided in written communications.

Poor Choice: “Most workers at Company XYZ try hard to climb the corporate ladder.”

Better Choice: “The majority of workers at Company XYZ strive to advance their careers there.”

Poor Choice: “Company XYZ brings know-how and a lot of skilled workers to the table.”

Better Choice: “Company XYZ brings business knowledge and a strong workforce to the merger proposal.”

If you do feel that it's appropriate to use slang to better communicate an idea or message, use it sparingly and place “quotation marks” around the word or phrase to let the reader—which includes your professor—know that you are aware that it is slang.

Wordiness & Passive Verbs

More is not necessarily better when it comes to writing. This is especially true when you are writing about topics with which the “average reader” may not be familiar. Be clear and concise and use active verbs whenever possible. Engage the reader and make it relevant to him/her.

Poor Choice: “On September 13, 1945, the XYZ Company was founded by John Doe for the purpose of providing farmers with crop-dusting services that were very much in need at that time.”

Better Choice: “John Doe founded the XYZ Company in September of 1945 in order to provide farmers with much-needed crop-dusting services.”
Notice that the verb in the second example is active: “John Doe founded…” In the first example, it is passive: “…XYZ Company was founded by…”

Graphs/Charts/Tables/Bulleted Lists

Use these items in support of your writing rather than in place of it. Graphs, charts, and tables can help support or strengthen a point visually, but they cannot and should not replace the written word in research papers.
Don't over-rely on bulleted lists either. Remember that you are writing an academic paper and not a memo or PowerPoint slideshow for a presentation.

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Final Word

Don't minimize the importance of clear, complete information when writing. Using poorly chosen words and phrases can confuse the receiver of your information. In the business world especially, this can lead to faulty decision-making and can even have negative financial impacts upon companies.

Many students find it difficult to master the process of writing and regularly encounter the same problems when writing an academic paper or job application.

The three most common writing difficulties, students are faced with, are:

• Getting the paper started: For most students, it's hard to get started. Once this first hurdle is overcome, one seems to write with more ease.
• Knowing what you want to say, but not how: Many students struggle with bringing their ideas down on paper and creating a coherent structure within the text.
• The text is either too long (or too short): Getting the length right is part of good writing, but most students write texts, that are either too long or too short.

Quite commonly do these challenges result in a writer’s block as both motivation and concentration rapidly decrease. Students often question their style of writing, get down on themselves for the inability to structure their thoughts. Peruse through the following tips and ideas to enhance your writing motivation, style, and pleasure in it.

Plan First, Write Later

For some reason, most students consider the idea of planning a paper on time consuming and dispensable. However, to develop a mind map, a list of argumentations or even a mental image of the complete masterpiece does neither take too much time, nor effort, but allows for an initial structure to go along with. This kind of mnemonic serves you in ensuring to cover the topic. Moreover, you will be able to reproduce your progress as you go along with a list of articulated steps. Instead of “making it up as you go along,” you will focus on the clear goals this way.

Write In Steps

To start writing a paper just the night before the due date is a common phenomenon among students. Moreover, students argue they write best this way. Mostly, this is not true. In a writing process, the most important aspect is time management. You need to think ahead, give yourself ample time to plan, research, write and revise your text. The easiest way to do so is to reserve a short period every day so you can complete your paper in gradual steps.

Start in the Middle

To start writing is a common problem that all writers face. Instead of struggling for some profound argumentation, or awe-inspiring moment to open your paper with, try to skip the first paragraph and start from the middle. You can always return to the first paragraph at the end, constructing the topic’s introduction last. Try it, you will be amazed!

Write First Drafts

Start to write ignoring the format, the rules of grammar and vague statements, that need to be researched further. Going back and striving for perfect writing from the beginning will impede your writer’s flow. Drafts serve as an outline. Mistakes are corrected when proofreading afterward - what you write does not matter, what you rewrite is what counts.

Follow Guidelines

To write a successful essay, you need to meet the requirements, mentioned in the assignment. That means - keeping in line with the minimum and maximum pages allowed. It is much harder to write a short rather than a long paper. Professors, therefore, do not ask you to write only six to eight pages, because they assume you cannot produce more on the topic. They do so because they are convinced you cannot write less than six. The important thing to know is, a text that is too long can be easily shortened, but a text that is too short's hard to lengthen.

Most writers will have trouble with writer's block at some point in their lives. The possible reasons for writer's block are myriad: fear, anxiety, a life change, the end of a project, the beginning of a project... almost anything, it seems, can cause that debilitating feeling of fear and frustration. Fortunately, there are as many ways to deal with writer's block as there are causes. The items below are only suggestions, but trying something new is the first step toward writing again.

1. Implement a Writing Schedule.

Carve out a time to write and then ignore the writer's block. Show up to write, even if nothing comes right away. When your body shows up on the page at the same time and place every day, eventually your mind — and your muse — will do the same. Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words, and only 500 words, every morning. Five hundred words are only about a page, but with those mere 500 words per day, Greene wrote and published over 30 books.

2. Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself.

In fact, don’t be hard on yourself at all while writing. Anna Quindlin wrote, “People have writer’s block not because they can’t write, but because they despair of writing eloquently.” Turn the critical brain off. There are a time and place for criticism: it’s called editing.

3. Think of Writing as a Regular Job, and Less as an Art.

Stephen King, a famously prolific author, uses the metaphor of a toolbox to talk about writing in On Writing, intentionally linking it to physical work. If we think of ourselves as laborers, as craftsmen, it’s easier to sit down and write. We’re just putting words on the page, after all, one beside another, as a bricklayer puts down bricks. At the end of the day, we’re just creating things — stories, poems, or plays — only we use vocabulary and grammar instead of bricks and mortar.

4. Take Time Off If You've Just Finished a Project.

Writer's block could be a sign that your ideas need time to gestate. Idleness can be a key part of the creative process. Give yourself time to gather new experiences and new ideas, from life, reading, or other forms of art, before you start again.

5. Set Deadlines and Keep Them.

Many writers, understandably, have trouble doing this on their own. You might find a writing partner and agree to hold each other to deadlines in an encouraging, uncritical way. Knowing that someone else is expecting results helps many writers produce material. Writing groups or classes are another good way to jump-start a writing routine.

6. Examine Deep-Seated Issues Behind Your Writer's Block.

Write about your anxieties regarding writing or creativity. Talk to a friend, preferably one who writes. A number of books, such as The Artist’s Way, is designed to help creative people explore the root causes of their blocks. (Studying the lives of other writers can also provide insight into why you're blocked.) If your writer's block continues, you might seek to counsel. Many therapists specialize in helping artists and writers reconnect with their creativity.

7. Work on More Than One Project at a Time.

Some writers find it helpful to switch back and forth from one project to another. Whether this minimizes fear or boredom, or both, it seems to prevent writer's block for many people.

8. Try Writing Exercises.

As much as it may remind you of your high school writing class, writing exercises can loosen up the mind and get you to write things you would never write otherwise. If nothing else, they get words on the page, and if you do enough of that, some of it is bound to be good.

9. Re-Consider Your Writing Space.

Are your desk and chair comfortable? Is your space well-lit? Would it help to try writing in a coffee shop for a change? Without being too precious about it — or turning it into another form of procrastination — think about how you can create or find a space you'll look forward to being in. More 

10. Remember Why You Started to Write in the First Place.

Look at what you’re writing and why. Are you writing what you love, or what you think you should be writing? The writing that feels most like play will end up delighting you the most, and this is the writing your readers will instinctively connect with. At the end of the day, writing is too hard to do it for anything other than love. If you continue to touch base with the joy you first felt in writing, it will sustain you, not only through your current block but through whatever the future holds.