Your CV is the only thing that the employer has in hand that will give him/her an impression about you. Hence, everything in a CV - the paper, the presentation, the language, and the overall looks - describes you.

• 1. The paper you use for the CV should be of a decent quality; while you should not really count your pennies when you purchase the paper, you should not go overboard either. Too shabby or too gaudy papers will have the same result - impression of bad taste

2. Use only blue or black ink for printing your CV; never use red to highlight and though there are no rules against using other colors, it does not leave a good impression if the CV is sent in green, violet or any other fancy color; for highlighting, use bold face. However, if you are applying for a copy writer job, or a TV advertising job or anything creative, the more artistic you do your CV, the better, because it will showcase your talent along with your qualifications

• 3. The cover letter should match the CV paper and letters typeset
• 4. Do not use typeset smaller than 11 pts because it makes it difficult to read; use Arial or Times New Roman as the font. Do not use handwriting or any artistic fonts for the CV
• 5. The standard margins for the CV should be 1inch in on all sides; in case you need to, may reduce the side margins to maximum 0.5; ensure that the typed matter is in the centre of the page
• 6. Check for typographical errors manually, as many times automatic spell checks create major howlers; if you want to use a new word use a dictionary, but avoid as much as possible to use words that you are not sure about; you may not get the right connotation and the reader will know that you are not familiar with the word
• 7. What the CV should include depends very much upon what the job entails. The following are some of the must-include contents:

• a. Start with a two-three sentence overview (your skills, your exceptional qualities, future plans and hopes) which will egg the employer read on
• b. Educational qualifications
• c. Additional training (technical training or soft skills)

d. Work experience (in reverse chronology, with the last job you had, mentioned first) e. Additional responsibilities (outside your designation and/or job description - if pertaining to the job applied) f. Job specific skills which you possess (only if pertaining to the job)

• g. Personal details (name, sex, address, phone numbers, email id, date of birth, marital status, and so on)
• h. Interests (be brief here, unless it is something that will enhance the skills required by the job)
• i. References are most of the times a guarantee you offer that what you say stands true; provide two (and inform the people you name as references about it) or inform them that you will provide their name if asked