emlyon business school CV guide

Table of contents

Introduction 2

I. A CV: what for? 3

II. CV SCREENING PROCESS 6

III. MARKETING TOOL AND KEYWORDS 7

IV. UPDATE my CV : why, when and how? 9

I. CONTENT and LAYOUT: find the right balance 11

V. CUSTOMIZE my CV convincingly yet quickly: why & how? 13

VII. COMMON MISTAKES: efficiency impairments 15

FAQ 16

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INTRODUCTION

An application is for a candidate the trial to be hired for a position. But let's look at it
from the other side… what does “a recruitment” mean for the recruiter?

A recruitment is all about “finding the right person for the right position (in the right
company)”. But what does “right” mean exactly? It all depends... Meaning, “right” will
not be an absolute, but a question of “the person meeting the requirements for this
position”.

What it means for you as a candidate is:

− Don't put too much pressure on you, you don't need to be THE RIGHT person
all the time to find a job... you just need to be the person meeting the
requirements for a precise position.
− You also need to be able to show you meet these requirements... And that's
where your position (job/internship) search tools, including your CV, will come
in.

Finding a position is all about proving you meet the requirements of the recruiter.
It's all about matching between criteria and candidates strengths...

Now, how do you prove you match? Well... read on, follow these advices and your
CV will already prove many points...

What's an efficient job search?

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 I. A CV: what for?

What’s a CV?

“CV” is the abbreviation of Curriculum Vitae, which is the Latin for “course of life”.
Many people see it as a written description of your professional experience,
publications, extra-curricular activities, education, awards, personal details …

CV, Curriculum Vitae or résumé?

The danger of this name is its total lack of flexibility. “My past life does not change, so
if I write it down, how can I adapt it?” is a common mistake when trying to write a
“course of life”

What’s a CV for?

Do you think your CV is meant for:

− Finding a job/an internship?
− Networking?
− Answering or anticipating all the recruiters' questions?

=> The right answer is: None of the above!

The sole purpose of a CV is to get you invited for a job interview.
So... This should be the measurement of your CV efficiency.

What's my CV efficiency?

You are asked to create a CV because it is one of the most commonly used tool to
apply for a position (internship or job).

 Your CV is a marketing & a communication tool that highlights and proves to

your prospective employers that your strengths and skills fully match their own
requirements

Once created, you will use your CV at many stages of your internship/job search:
- application to job advertisements on the web (emlyon Students Career Centre,
job boards, corporate web sites…)
- speculative applications
- emlyon Careers Forum, job fairs and other forums
- after networking interviews (to be sent to the people you met)

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Let’s be clear: your CV will NOT enable you to find a position (internship or job)
unless you benefit from a good preparation for interviews, BUT it is the KEY to
successfully get through several rejection steps, and lead recruiters to invite
you to a job interview.

 You will be invited to job interviews if you convince the employer that your
profile (experience, skills, education…) matches his/her requirements.

Therefore, your personal concrete and present stake is to create a CV that will
convince your future employer that your profile matches his/her requirements. Only
then he/she will ask you to attend a job interview.

Afterwards, once facing the recruiter, you will do your outmost to convince him/her
that you are the right candidate for them, but without a good CV, you may never even
meet him/her.

Creating a good CV might be quite challenging!

The first step to manage to create it is to know what makes the difference between a
CV and a good CV…

What’s a good CV?

A) A good CV proves you match recruiter’s requirements

The best way to convince the recruiter to invite you for an interview is to write a CV
that proves you match the requirements.

How to identify recruiters' requirements?

How to prove something?

B) A good CV is easy to read

Remember: your CV is one in a (huge) pile. So... make it easy on the eyes for
recruiters, it should be easy and pleasant to read!

− Have a significant and highly visible title

− Use bullet points: one line = one idea
− Don't use sentences with subject
− Organise your information consistently and in an understandable way

What is the screening process my CV might go through?

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 C) A good CV highlights your strengths as required by the recruiter

How to find/know my strengths?

− The relevant data, the one the recruiter is searching, is visible at first glance.
− The good CV highlights relevant information, and only relevant information.
− Remember highlighting means discriminating information.
− NOT everything needs to be seen at first glance.

You could also try to imagine the recruiter with a highlighter pen in hand: what
information would he/she be looking for first? What would they highlight?

How to highlight information?

D) A good CV differentiates you from other candidates seeking similar positions

− If you followed all advice from A to C, you now have a CV that does
differentiate itself, because most of your competitors do not follow this simple
advice!
− To be compelling, your CV may not contain all of your work history but will
mainly highlight the required skills/experience valued by the prospective
employer.
− Differentiating does not mean trying to have a bizarre and unique component
to your CV that can’t be useful in the workplace.

You’ll make the difference and be visible and efficient if:

1 – your CV obviously fully matches the recruiter’s requirements

2 – every piece of information in your CV increases your chances of getting an

interview: you will cautiously remove every potential risk of elimination (unnecessary
data, vague information, lies, confusing layout, wrong or not updated information…)

3 – your CV is “scan-proof”: to avoid being sent straight to the rejection pile, check
the CV screening process

4 - your CV really reflects your strengths and accomplishments, with the right
vocabulary

5 – there is no typo at all in your CV

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 II. CV SCREENING PROCESS

We need to meet recruiter's expectations... but, who exactly is recruiting? What is the
screening process of your CV? How can you make sure it will succeed and pass the
different steps?
Here is the detailed process of CV screening. Its' not an absolute truth, but it happens
often enough that it's important to take it into account.

Nb of CV
Screening step Situation/Potential risks Solution
screened/kept

Include all keywords that were in the job ad –

The computer is stupid, looking only exactly for the include all synonym keywords (KAM and Key
keyword that has been typed. Recruiters almost always Account Manager for instance). Beware : of a
Computer screening 150 to 50
use keywords related to industry or skills, and naturally use company so famous you don't name the industry
their own vocabulary. (l'Oreal without keyword beauty or fashion or luxury
might not be kept in this step)

Not well trained, not experienced, afraid to make a mistake Make their job easy – matching strengths (as
HR assistant or Intern screening or ask... Will follow precisely their specifications which may highlighted in job offer) should be visible at first 50 to 20
not have been really precise glance – use vocabulary of targeted company

Only 10 second max per CV – sorting between 2 piles : matching strengths (as highlighted in job offer)
1st recruiter check 20 to 10
« maybe » and « no way » should be visible at first glance

2mn par CV – this is the first time your CL might be read

(no guarantee) – well versed in education and experience. Precise results in your experience – All matching
2nd check (by same recruiter) 10 to 5
Will identify doubtful data – Looks for personality traits, strengths should have proof/evidence
potential and consistency

Not a professionnal recruiter – will check more technical

Precise description of past missions and 5 to 3 ppl to
Future manager and factual experience and knowledge. Looks for immediate
achievements – use vocabulary of targeted company meet
adaptability and abilities

As you can see, your CV will go through different screening steps, and it needs to
pass all the steps... In order to achieve this, you really need to have a marketing
approach...

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 III. MARKETING TOOL AND KEYWORDS

Forget about your past being engraved and not possible to change... Start thinking of
how rich your past is, and how it is possible to present it in several different ways,
without resorting to inefficient (and unnecessary) lies.

We sometimes hear “I don't know how to sell myself”. Well... Nobody does! You don't
have to sell yourself, what you need to “sell” is a complex package, consisting of:
- what you do in the workplace
- how you do it in the workplace
- what you can learn and how quickly and efficiently in the workplace
- how you behave in the workplace
- who you are in the workplace
As there is much more than this to you, so no need to sell “yourself”... and indeed it
would be a mistake to try, as it can only impair your application efficiency. Recruiters
only care about you at work, so keep that in mind through all the steps of your
application/their recruitment.

Now that you know you have to sell a complex package, you need to use the
marketing skills emlyon business school teaches you.
Your CV is here to prove you MATCH requirements, and it should become a
marketing tool.

What is a marketing tool?

How to identify recruiters' requirement?
How to prove something?

You need for your target to feel special... one way for this to happen, is to conform to
their behaviour and expectations... in terms of strengths, but also in terms... in
words...
And here comes the notion of keywords.

What's a keyword?

Key => discriminating, specific, that makes a difference.

Example of NON-KEY words: project, manager, consultant, intern... These words
cover so diverse realities that they are absolutely non discriminant (try typing them in
a search engine and see how large the selection is).
Word => self-explanatory, except sometimes it could be an acronym (FMCG for
instance)

How is a keyword used?

− Database/computer search: A keyword will obviously be used for a database

search. Which is often the first step of CV screening.
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Please note: Computers are really obedient entities. As such, they will be stupid. You
have already experienced this! If you type a keyword with a typo, you end up with no
results.
You need to be brighter than the computer, and try to also avoid the common
“computer-user” mistakes.

- When reading CVs, recruiters will be more attracted to a candidate using their
vocabulary. This is natural and often unconscious. => Whenever you have the choice
between synonyms, you should use the one that's in use in your targeted company.

Here is the step-by-step approach to keywords...

Step one: list all possible keywords for each CV item (company, position, field of
study...)
Step two: choose amongst this list the ones that will be relevant for your targeted
recruiter, according to their requirements
Step three: include them wisely and logically in your CV.

How to find and list keywords?

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IV. UPDATE my CV : why, when and how?

Why should I update my CV?

Your CV should be a fluid document which changes as you earn degrees, gain
professional experience and acquire new interests and career directions…and most
of you will go through such phase(s) during your studies at emlyon business school.

Updating your CV does NOT consist in adding your latest experience and delete
other information because it may not fit in a one-page CV anymore !!!

In order to properly udpate a CV, you need to really start it anew.

Create a new document from scratch, otherwise you won't be at your most
efficient!

 1 new experience does not consist of adding just some more lines in your CV

 Think your new CV globally in terms of gained skills, sector or company

knowledge…

 New skills and experiences need to be highlighted and connected with similar
or complementary past experiences in order to show the consistency of both
your career and professional and educational strengths and choices

1 CV = 1 purpose = to be selected for job interviews for your targeted job position or
within the targeted company/organisation.

Therefore, the more you will know about your recruiter’s requirements (experiences,
skills, education, former employers requested…), the more you will have clues to
update and customize your CV.

When and how should I update it?

There are some cases when you absolutely should update your CV, such as:
A) You earned degrees, gained professional experience or acquired new interests
B) Several readers misunderstood or asked for clarification on a CV portion
C) You applied several times with your CV yet without any success (interview,
reply)
D) Your project has changed (geographical area, job family, industry or sector…)
E) You moved closer to the area you’re applying for
F) You started to study in a new and complementary educational field

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In short, your CV should be updated whenever there's been a change and/or you
think that it may not enough show/highlight your strengths added value for the
targeted position.

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 V. CONTENT and LAYOUT: find the right balance
Beware of preformatted CVs!
Let’s be clear and let’s go straight to the point: we advise you to be very cautious with
CV makers or automatic resume builders such as cvmkr.com, myperfectresume.com,
resume-now.com...
What are the risks with preformatted CV?
What if a preformatted CV is compulsory?

 Keep in mind : CONTENT FIRST

STOP thinking “HOW to display” key information.

START thinking “WHAT should be highly visible at first glance”.
Remember what makes a good CV...

Don’t forget: your CV aims at showing the prospective employer that you fully match
requirements. Only after that, you may be asked to attend an interview!

If you are clear about what's inside a good CV... you can now check the layout:
− No more than one page for a beginner/student (cautious: check country
specifics)
− Consistent layout
− One font (easy to read and present on most word processors=> classic font)
− One font size – 10minimum (except for main title)
− Reasonable use of colour (one colour or two maximum)
− Use tabulation key and NOT space key to order data
− Easy to update format (avoid tables, drawings and images in the text)
− Pictures are never mandatory and may be illegal in some country
− Absolutely no typing or spelling mistakes
− The language of your CV is the language you will work in (don't write a CV in a
language you are unable to use at work every day all day long)
− Save it in pdf, and name it with your name in it (for instance myname.pdf or
mynamecompanytargetted.pdf)

What should I put in my CV?

Here are the absolute compulsory parts your CV should always have, regardless of
the country you target:
− Contact information
− a Title stating your goal and 2 or 3 main strengths
− an Education paragraph
− an Experience paragraph
− Languages
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Here are some other parts that are not compulsory. They may be useful to your
application, if they comply with recruiters expectations (which should be checked
country by country).
− a Profile
− a Skills paragraph
− an Achievements paragraph
− a Projects paragraph
− an extra-curricular experience paragraph
− a Volunteer experience paragraph
− a Hobby and leisure paragraph
− any other paragraph specific to your background and interesting to the
recruiter

What about dates?

Content relevance should not vary, you always need to differentiate through proving
you can do the job... but layouts may vary according to the countries.

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 VI. CUSTOMIZE my CV convincingly yet quickly: why &
how?

Why should I customize my CV ?

In case:
- you don’t intend to reshape your CV now (for any good reason),
- you think you only have to add 2 lines for your latest experience and that will
make it,
- you think you don’t need to redo your CV at all (once more !),

 think again !

Recruiters need to find in your CV some key information that will enable and motivate
them to consider you as a potential interesting candidate. You will become an
interesting candidate if your CV proves that your profile matches the employer’s
requirements.

Customizing your CV will transform it in a marketing tool...

It will also help it pass successfully through the CV screening process.
Don't forget: when you're applying, your CV is not alone any more, but is one of a
pile... So it's not good enough for your CV to be merely OK...

Caution: keep in mind that your CV can always be improved but THE perfect CV
does not really exist.

How to customize my CV convincingly yet quickly?

Don't feel daunted by the task of customizing... it should be only a few minutes if you
stick to your professional goal.
To be efficient, YES, your CV should be customized. BUT if both your project and
targets are clear, only some slight changes should be done for each application.

 Convincing yet quick customization depends on your own knowledge of the

recruiter’s requirements

Each piece of information in your CV either increases a chance of getting an

interview or is a risk of elimination ; there is no middle ground.

 Neutral or unnecessary information will impair the visibility of your strengths,

and as such, impair your CV efficiency.

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A) Customize the title or the header your CV
B) Customize your short profile description
C) Customize each of your past job title and the description of your past
experiences
D) Use the right key words … and repeat them
E) Have someone else proofread your CV for typos
F) Ask for a feedback or for some help to someone that you trust

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VII. COMMON MISTAKES: efficiency impairments
Even though the perfect CV does not exist, there are some mistakes that you can
easily avoid: just read below advises and use them like a check–list when you rewrite
or update your CV.

So here is the list of CV potential efficiency impairments.

A) Unclear or lack of professional objective

A general “one for all” CV is not good enough for the level you are applying for. Your
CV should be targeted towards one goal, and it should state it clearly.

B) Inappropriate content

- Typo and spelling errors

- Mentioning family status
- Hobbies
- Quirky, useless or uninteresting experiences
- Exaggeration, lies, intentional omissions : limits of the embellishment of the
truth

C) Poor or misleading layout

Remember: a good CV must be easy to read... So layout can become a problem if it

does not support this.

Here are a few layout problems you should really avoid

- Key information not visible at first glance

- Several different fonts or font sizes
- Too many colours or badly chosen ones
- Highlighting mistakes
- Paragraphs too long or too short

When writing a CV is NOT a good idea

If you don't know what you want to do, don't try to write a CV. Get back to “defining
your project” steps. Finish the work on the project on Brightspace, and use data from
your Career Farm Professional report.

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 FAQ

1. How can I be efficient in my position (internship or job) search?

2. What's my CV efficiency?
3. CV, Curriculum Vitae or Résumé?
4. Where can you identify recruiter’s requirements?
5. How to find/know my strengths?
6. How to highlight information in my CV?
7. Common mistakes in highlighting
8. How to prove something? How to be convincing?
9. What do you mean by marketing leaflet?
10. How to find and list keywords?

Updating...
11. A/ Update when you earned degrees, gained professional experience or
acquired new interests
12. B/ Update when... Several readers misunderstood or needed clarification on a
paragraph
13. C/ Update when... You applied several times with your CV yet without success
(no interview, no reply)
14. D/ Update when... Your project has changed (geographical area, job family,
industry or sector…)
15. E/ Update when... You moved closer to the city/region you’re applying for
16. F/ Update when... You started to study in a new and complementary
educational field

Layouts vs contents...
17. What are the risks in using a preformatted CV?
18. If a preformatted CV is compulsory?
19. Consistent Layout
20. Picture
21. PDF format
22. Contact information
23. CV Title
24. Education paragraph
25. Experience paragraph
26. Profile
27. Skills paragraph
28. Languages
29. Projects paragraph
30. Achievements paragraph
31. Extra-curricular experience paragraph
32. Volunteer experience paragraph
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 33. Hobby and leisure paragraph
34. Any other paragraph
35. What about dates?
36. Adapting to countries

Customizing...
37. A/ Customize the title or the header your CV
38. B/ Customize your short profile description
39. C/ Customize each of your past job title and the description of your past
experiences
40. D/ Use the right key words … and repeat them
41. E/ Have someone else proof your CV for typos
42. F/ Ask for a feedback or for some help to someone that you trust

Mistakes to avoid...
43. CV efficiency impairments due to unclear or lack of professional
objective
44. How family status can become an elimination criteria
45. When hobbies impair your CV efficiency
46. Quirky, useless or uninteresting experiences
47. Exaggeration, lies, intentional omissions : limits of the embellishment of
the truth
48. Paragraph too long or too short

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1 - How can I be efficient in my position (internship or job) search?
The efficiency of your position (internship or job) search relies on 3 pillars:
1 – your search strategy
2 – your network and networking skills
3 – your communication tools : CV, cover-letter, e-presence and professional pitch

They will be customized for one (or maximum two) professional project(s).
A professional project consists in targeting:
- a position (or a job family),
- a kind of organization or company (public/private, small company or
international group, start-up, NGO (non-governmental organization) …)
- a geographical area
- an industry: services, web, volunteering, education…)

 Your communication tools, including your CV, as well as your action plan
(networking, interview preparation, prospective application …) MUST be
adapted to your professional target.

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2 - What's my CV efficiency?
If your CV gets you invited for job interviews as often as 50% of your applications, or
more, congratulations, you have a highly efficient CV (you could even choose to stop
reading this right now)
If you still get invited from 25% to 50% of your applications, it is a fairly efficient CV,
but may still be improved.
If you get invited for interview in less than 25% of your applications, you definitely
have room for improvement. Problem can be in your targeting positions you can not
hold (yet!), and/or, your CV does not prove enough how useful you can be to the
recruiter.

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3 - CV, Curriculum Vitae or Résumé?

It is sometimes called CV, Curriculum Vitae or résumé, depending on the countries
and format used. Some definitions could be:

- a CV is a brief and informative summary of your abilities, education, and experience

- a Curriculum Vitae may be longer than a CV and provides more details on many
subjects. This long format is commonly used for scientists or research &development
positions in scientific organisations.
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- a resume is the American CV. It's the shortening of “life résumé”, an English-Franco
strange translation from latin. It is synthetic, focused on an explicit target and highly
structured.

Depending on the country where you intend to apply, you will either create a CV or a
resume. Advice and methods described in this guide are applicable to both formats.

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4 - Where can you identify recruiter’s requirements?

Before any application, you need to take a step back and try to understand what your
prospective employer’s requirements are.

Depending on the location, the company, the manager, the size and the history of the
team, its current stakes, such requirements may vary in terms of knowledge,
experience, behavioural abilities, adaptability, languages spoken, management skills,
ambition …

Their requirements may be found, primarily in the job ad, but also on job descriptions,
thanks to networking interviews about the job, by listening to experts coming to
business school to present their jobs...

Once you’ll have identified your prospective recruiter’s requirements, you accordingly
will need to find a way to highlight your personal strengths and added value for the
targeted position in your CV.

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5 - How to find/know my strengths?

You should have a fairly good knowledge of your strengths thanks to the Career
Farm Professionnal report. Use it to build your CV.

You can also ask yourself the following questions:

 which concrete past experience, success, failure, course, diploma, job position
(…) are relevant to highlight to prove the employer that you can do the job (or
even better, that you already did it) !

 how to describe simply but yet efficiently your actions, scope of

responsibilities, added value and achieved results?

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  In which kind of environment did you show required abilities in the past? It may
be in a personal or professional environment, while practising a sport, during
your extra-curricular activities, abroad while traveling on your own…

 what did you learn or experience at school in line with the requirements?

 what were your personal contribution and learnings in such or such project ?

If you can write clearly such kind of information in your CV, you’ll win the challenge of
highlighting your strongest assets and skills according to the employer’s
requirements!

Caution: make sure to use the right vocabulary and technical wording to be
understood by the employer. The content of your CV will reassure your prospective
employers about your ability to do the job and join the team only if he catches
properly your message…

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What if I don't have a job or internship offer?

In case of speculative application (no job advertisement, no job position officially
opened), You should create the job ad in your mind, and answer requirements. To do
so, you can ask yourself 3 questions:
a) “What’s my professional goal and what’s the goal of this CV here and now?”
It should be clear in your mind and clearly expressed and displayed; visible at first
glance.
Caution: if you can’t answer those questions, STOP writing your CV and take some
time to find your professional project and the goal of this CV here and now instead.

b) “What are my 2 or 3 main strengths matching the CV goal or professional

project?” They should be, once again, clearly expressed and visible at first
glance. One of them is, for sure, that you are studying at emlyon business
school, and you may have additional personal strengths such as several
languages spoken, Major, some experience abroad or in a specific area…

c) “Why should a recruiter meet me for this position?”

Once again, one of the first reasons why a recruiter would hire you is that you’ve
been selected to join emlyon business school, one of the top European Business
Schools. But you can as well “sell” your professional experience, your management
experience, your former studies, your spoken languages, your current or past extra-
curricular activities, your volunteering activities, your trips abroad, your awards and
prizes…

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6 - How to highlight information in my CV?
You have several different means of highlighting information in a typed document:
− having a big, bold, “impossible to miss” TITLE with one to 3 key points
− changing the size of your font
− bold character
− underlining
− capital letters
− colors
However... to keep your CV readable, you should choose only ONE way of
highlighting information (except for your main title). If you mix several ways, the
reader just doesn't know any more where to look, so nothing is visible.
The first thing to do is to CHOOSE what to highlight. And that should be... what the
recruiter need to see first, meaning... proofs you meet his/her requirements for
this position!

Paragraph titles should just be separators, and don't need to catch the eye. Don't
highlight them.

Hint : show your CV to a friend but display it 2 meters away from his/her eyes. Ask
him/her what he/she can see. The according paragraphs should contain key data.

You can also use paragraph length to highlight information in a more indirect way. For
instance, if you have two experiences: one that is highly relevant, one that is no so
relevant to recruiter's expectations, you may wirte the most relevant one in more
details so that it takes more space on the page than the not-so-relavant one
(regardless of duration of each experience).

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7 - Please check the following common mistakes in highlighting

− Bold and/or underlined dates => Do you really think they are sooooo important
that they need to be seen before your skills?
− Highlighted name and personal data => Yes, your name is important.
However, it is rarely, if ever, a criteria for inviting you in an interview. And your
personal data, address and such, are even less relevant for a “first-glance
impression”. Put them in, but don't highlight them!
− Different fonts => makes the CV less pleasant and easy to read
− Different font sizes in the CV => makes the CV more difficult to read
− Colors that would cancel themselves when printed in black and white
− Paragraph titles are so visible as to “hide” the relevant info
− If languages are important, don't hide them by putting several languages all
stuck together on one poor line of your CV. Highlight them. Each language is a
skill on its own, it deserves at least one line (if you speak it well enough to use
it at work).
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8 - How to prove something? How to be convincing?

In order to be convincing, information needs to be specific, and precise.
Psychological studies show that people will believe (and trust) you more the more
specific and precise you are a,d also if you give proof. Proof can be given through
results, achivements, recommendations...
You are precise when giving names and/or figures.
Use action verbs when describing your tasks. Separate between tasks/missions and
results reached. Even during an internship you usually have goals to meet. If you met
them, you can include that as a result.

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9 - What do you mean by marketing leaflet?

Imagine... let's take the example of another complex product: a car. A car is highly
technical, has plenty of interesting features... and several documents to be used in its
marketing lifecycle...
There is for instance the specifications sheets of the car... giving us the engine
power, all the technical data... this is quite an impressive document, of many pages,
very detailed... Then there is the information note... summing up this data on one or
two pages...
Yet... this is not the document used by salespeople to invite you to come and try the
vehicle... They use a different document, a marketing leaflet, which might mention
some technical aspects of the car, but mostly will show you what that car can do... for
you! And this marketing leaflet will be different according to the buyers targeted... for
instance for a light commercial vehicle (Kangoo, berlingo) that could be used for
professional purposes by a plumber, or for personal use by a family with kids... the
information note will be the same, but the marketing leaflet will change according to
target...
Well, your CV can be of the “information note” format, all technical, centered on you
only, or could be a marketing leaflet, centered on the needs of the recruiter and how
you meet them.

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10 - How to find and list keywords?

Those key words can be found:
− in a job description,
− internship and job advertisement,
− on the corporate web site of the company

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 − during interviews with professionals working in the same field of industry or
company as the ones targeted. For example, you may simply ask to your
contacts questions like “should you recruit an emlyon business school intern
for your team, what would you expect from him or her?”. ”What key skills or
strengths do you expect from your interns”, “which skills are necessary to join
your company and have a long career?”… Make sure to correctly write down
the way they answer and make sure to use the same right vocabulary in your
CV afterwards.
− You need first to list ALL prospective keywords, choosing will come later

Let's take an example...

You have an experience with L'Oreal. What are the keywords that we could find for
this group? Look at their website (preferably the one for your targeted country)...
brainstorm with friends... check in your missions and job offers... Try also to adopt a
“binocular” method: start at the most detailed and take distance or enlarge the
picture. Let's do it on the product angle:
− lipstick, shampoo, mascara (this is on the most detailed level, to be
completed)...
− skincare, haircare...
− beauty products, styling...
− cosmetics...
− fashion, luxury...

That is from the product angle. Relevant only if you target a similar industry.
Now you can also use this keyword approach on the type of company
− Multinational, French Multinational, Group, Multibrand company, global
company, present in 120 countries...

You need to repeat the process for your position, sometimes for your department...
You can also use this method for customers/distributors/suppliers/partners...
depending on the kind of keywords you will need to interest your recruiter.

You know have a nice and long list. Take each word and look in a thesaurus (or
brainstorm with friends) for synonyms for each of them.

How to use keywords?

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11 - Update when you earned degrees, gained professional experience or

acquired new interests

Such an update may require to add several lines to your CV.

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Instead of just adding those new pieces of information, ask yourself what real added
value you gained with it (technical knowledge, skills, behavioural abilities, experience
in a sector/industry, management practice…).

Only highlight and include useful / relevant new skills, knowledge or experience in
your CV.

Remove as well non added value information for your targeted position such as past
or very common hobbies, driving licence (unless required in the ad), family status, old
and/or unrelated diploma, very old experience without any link to your current
target…
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12 - Update when... Several readers misunderstood or needed clarification on a

paragraph

Collect and use feedbacks. Interviewing and networking will help you to learn what
needs clarification on your resume and what should be emphasized. Talking to
friends, relatives or colleagues about your experiences may make it easier to recall
your responsibilities and achievements.

Depending on the questions asked by the readers, you may consider:

- that the according experience / item is not relevant for the targeted
position/industry
- that the description of one experience is not clear/detailed enough
- that your wording is not appropriate, i.e. not adapted to the reader and/or to
the recruiter vocabulary, or just too vague
- that either your project or your target is unclear.

If so, ask your readers what is unclear for them, why they think that such information
is not relevant, and rewrite your ideas simply. Be more concise and explicit. Seek and
then use industry or job family vocabulary and keywords.

If your project or your target is unclear, it may only be a matter of vocabulary or it may
also show that your project is really not precise enough yet.
If so, take time to define more precisely your target (job family or position, kind of
industry, geographical area, kind of organization/company…) and identify your own
personal added-value for this particular target (skills, education, experience, network,
languages …). Afterwards, and only afterwards, car you rewrite your CV.

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13 - Update when... You applied several times with your CV yet without success
(no interview, no reply)
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In such a situation, deploy / develop / use your network to go and meet people
working in the company/industry/job family you applied to.

You can meet them in order to collect a feedback on your CV, or in order to
investigate and discover the kind of experience, education, skills, know-how (…)
highly valued for your targeted position within your preferred prospective employers
for example.

Once you’ll have gathered enough information, you will then have to reconsider the
way you value and highlight your own experience, taking into account identified
requirements.

For example, you may choose to delete some professional experiences and highlight
some personal or extra-curricular activities to demonstrate your ability to lead a
project autonomously.

Once you have reshaped and refreshed your CV, you can show it again to the people
who helped you in re-creating it, and you can ask them for a last feedback on this
new version (potential further improvement and fruitful changes).

Don't forget another reason might be you are applying for a position that is out of
your scope (yet!). If that's the case, define a plan of action, use networking in order to
recalibrate the position you chould be applying for now in order to have a good CV
ready for next step, when you try again to apply for the initially targetted position.

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14 - Update when... Your project has changed (geographical area, job family,
industry or sector…)

Employers/recruiters may expect slight different content and layout’s CV, depending
on the company, the industry/sector, country they work in.

Therefore, if one of those elements changes, you should investigate to know the
requirements of your prospective employers, and rethink/rewrite/reshape your CV
based on those expectations.

For example, as a business school student, if you apply for an internship or for a job
in the US, a one-page CV is appropriate, it should not include a picture and you
should clearly and shortly describe your strengths, target and personal added-value.
If you apply for an internship or for a job in England, a two-page CV may be
accepted, it can include a picture (as far as t is professional, of course) and you may
longer describe each experience and personal activities for example.

CV Guide Page 25/38

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15 - Update when... You moved closer to the city/region you’re applying for

If you studied abroad and seek a position (internship or job) in the country where you
studied, your CV should definitely highlight this particularity.

You may highlight your presence in the country in the education section, in the top
presentation block, in personal details and / or in the cover-letter for example.

If you can mention a local address, do it as well: it demonstrates your local presence
and the fact that you already know the country which can be quite important for your
recruiter.

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16 - Update when... You started to study in a new and complementary

educational field

Some of you may have studied other fields than business (law, chemistry, foreign
languages, politics…). Some of you may also do several degrees at the same time.

If so, you have to rethink your past professional experience to rephrase it accordingly
to prospective employers’ requirements.

You have to identify and somehow “translate” your past actions and responsibilities
into accurate wording for your new future field of responsibility (refer to Action verbs
list for your resume in Appendix 1).
Instead of talking about “updating your CV”, you should talk about “re-creating” your
CV because your new prospective employers’ requirements may be dramatically
different from the ones you targeted before.

Hint: some really impacting action verbs to use = Captivated, Directed, Championed,
Exceeded, Pioneered, Formulated, Generated, Intensified, Leverage, Masterminded,
Maximized, Mentored …

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37 - Customize the title or the header your CV

Use the exact same wording as the one used in the advertisement or in the company
organization chart. For example, a “financial controller” can be called “industrial

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financial controller”, “business controller” or “Region Europe controller”, “corporate
financial controller” (…) depending on the scope of responsibility.
Be careful: if you have already held the position, you can just write the title. If not, you
need to introduce it with a “Aiming for” or “looking for” beforehand.

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38 - Customize your short profile description

Below the CV title, you may write a short description of your profile and highlight your
main strengths and skills according to the job requirements. Depending on the
format, it can be a subtitle or one or two bullet points. Avoid sentences, as they are
not really visible at first glance

Example: young bilingual Junior Financial Controller, 3rd year student at emlyon
business school, Major in Finance & Controlling
One year experience as Junior Controller in an international company.

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39 - Customize each of your past job title and the description of your past
experiences

Your CV should already be targeted towards your goal. So, for instance, if you're
applying for a marketing position, it should already highlight your strengths in regard
to marketing... What is left to customize in your description? => you can start by
looking at the order of your missions (within each particular experience). You
probably put mission A first because it was your main mission. BUT if the recruiter
does not need this mission, but wants you to perfom most mission C... then you
should just move mission C first and before mission A and B.
Depending on your project in this particular company, you will highlight different skills,
experience, knowledge and projects that will make feel the recruiter that your current
project is in line with your past experiences and future aspiration in the targeted
company.
For example, if you apply for a marketing position but only worked as a sales
assistant in the past, you have to mainly highlight and focus your job description on
the marketing tasks that you handled and the results or projects that you achieved.
You should also focus on customer knowledge gained...
Give some thought to which interests, work skills and experiences you can
emphasize: choose the ones that you can explain and “sell” easily and that are
required by recruiters. Good examples might come from your past or current
education, professional experience, personal experience (lived abroad for some
years, double nationality…), and extra-curriculum activities (awards, practiced a sport

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at competition level…). Make sure to use the right transferable key words and
vocabulary (see following paragraph).

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40 - Use the right key words … and repeat them

Once you found what the prospective employer’s requirements are, you have to
make sure that you use the same vocabulary as the employer’s one in you CV. The
words describing the employer’s requirements are precious key words that should
absolutely be included in your CV.
Caution: if you don’t include the right key words in you CV (all of them, and repeated
several times), you may be rejected during the first elimination step and the recruiter
may not quickly be led to think that your profile matches his/her requirements.

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41 - Have someone else proof your CV for typos

Any typo may cause a prospective employer to be concerned about your attention to
detail. Even if you already have a fine-tuned resume, have someone else read it with
a new eye. If you do not wish to change your CV, juste to have it proofread, be clear
with the person about your request. You do not need advice about content at this
stage...
If your CV is not in your mother tongue, you definitely need to have it proofread by
someone whose mother tongue it is.
Beware: of local specificities... when applying to Europe in english, better ask a
British person than a non-European (American, Canadian, Australian...), when
applying for french-speaking Canada, better have a French-speaking Canadian re-
read it than a French person...

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42 – Ask for a feedback or for some help to someone that you trust

Your surroundings are sometimes better than you at seeing your strengths.
So you may try this little exercise: shortly explain to someone that you really trust (it
can be a friend, a relative, a professional connection) the context and the mission
you are about to apply for.
Then, ask him/her, based on your CV or on what they know about you, why they
would think that you are the right candidate for the targeted position. Don’t interrupt
him/her ! Just write down everything he/she says and, if necessary, answer his/her
questions.
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Only afterwards, tell him/her why you think you are the right candidate (write it down
in advance). Afterwards, make sure that each key element is clearly visible (layout)
and mentioned (vocabulary and grammar) in your CV.

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17 - What are the risks in using a preformatted CV?

Such (an apparently seducing) tool do offer nice and homogeneous layout but are
either not customizable or may take more time to customize than creating a CV from
scratch...

The main risk in using such CV makers is the layout to overtake the content, which
would dramatically impair your CV efficiency!

For example, if the first default section is Education, such layout will not be accurate
for an experienced professional.
Or sometimes, company names are highly visible whereas Job Titles or working
locations may be more important to highlight
“Hobbies” or “Extra-curricular activities” section might be mandatory to fill in but you
may not have any accurate data to enter there.
Or you may want to add or to rename a section with “volunteering activities” for
example.

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18 – What if a preformatted CV is compulsory?

You are sometimes asked to fill in a preformatted form, and that is the only way to
apply.
When you have to fill in a preformatted form, you should do step by step:
− Step 1: list all the information you really want to include in that CV (ideally, you
could draft your own CV for that occasion)
− Step 2: fill in the form once, then before sending it, have a look at the draft
− Step 3: See what is missing, there is ALWAYS something missing, and find a
way to include it in the preformatted version.
For instance, you might have wanted to include an industry presentation with
keywords, and the format only asks you for employers name. Well, get back to the
field “employer”, and write, not only the employers' name, but also the other
information you wanted to give. If space is too short in that field, check the field for
presenting your tasks and results, which usually offers plenty of space.

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CV Guide Page 29/38

19 - Consistent Layout:
The layout should be consistent all through your CV, that means that every job title
should be presented the same way (for example, in bold); every working location
should be presented the same way (for example, on the right of the job title and
company name line); the whole CV should either be fully chronological or fully anti-
chronological.

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20 - Picture:
In case a picture is required, or you really really absolutely wish to include one (check
legality for country first!), here are the 3 rules for a good CV picture:
− you should look professional (as you would in a job interview)
− you should look friendly enough for the recruiter to wish to meet you (no “I'm
not smiling and look like a serial killer” photo please, this is not a legal ID!)
− you should be recognizable (so if you wear glasses for a job interview, put
them on for the photo, if you changed recently your hairdo or facial hair,
change your photo...)

Legal pictures?
Pay attention to local or company distinct professional customs. Pictures may be
required for some countries such as France but are illegal in the United States and
Canada.
Investigate to find out when a picture is required on your CV.
Professional look:
To choose the appropriate picture, think about who may be the future reader of your
CV : you may aim at professionally looking like the potential reader.
For example, if you apply for a bank, you should wear a shirt and a suit, plus a tie for
men.
Some companies like luxury industry one’s for example may require a picture,
whereas some industrial companies may not require it: carefully investigate…
Hint : go and have a look at LinkedIn profiles of people working in the targeted
company ; this may give some idea about the typical professional company look.

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21 - PDF format
Save and send your CV in pdf: it should ensure to keep the right layout even if the
recruiter prints out your documents on another paper format than planned (layout for
A4 format and printed out on US letter for example).

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CV Guide Page 30/38

22 - Contact information
− Name (in the format of “First Name LAST NAME”)
− e-mail address (professional looking, and one you check every day – one is
enough)
− phone number (write it so that recruiters will have no problem calling you: if
you target outside of France, format should be “+33 6X XXX XXXX –
remember to check that your voice mail is also professional sounding, and in
all languages of your applications – one phone number is enough)
− skype Id if applying abroad is a good idea, provided it is professional looking
(not supergamer69 or such Id, create a specific account if necessary)
− Your postal address is not compulsory. You should only include it if you think it
helps your application... Typically, if you have an address that is close to the
recruiter's location, it might help. Otherwise, you can exclude it from the CV
(and gain space!)
− Other personal information, such as age or date/place of birth, family status...
are not compulsory, and are rarely, if ever useful. They are even illegal in
some countries. Don't include them (unless exceptionnally relevant, like you
are French applying in Brasil and were born in Brasil... it might help)
− Nationality is not a legal criteria for recruiting, and as such, is not needed on
your CV. However, recruiters need to know if they have the right to legally
employ you. Better to write in terms of “work permit”. For all EU citizens for
instance, you can write “EU Work permit” instead of your nationality. For
people having a foreign (outside EU) sounding name, and an EU nationality, is
it even more important.
− Driving license may be mentioned here
− Geographical mobility may be mentioned here, if it is attractive to the recruiter
− In case of a 2 page CV, please check that your name is also on the second
page, as a headnote or footnote

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23 - CV Title
The CV title should be BIG and BOLD and impossible to miss. Even readers just
glancing at your CV should get the message.
It will be really useful in step 2 and 3 of the screening process
It states your main strengths (up to 3) and your goal

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24 - Education paragraph
As an emlyon business school student, education is your main strength. Companies
come to emlyon to get emlyon students! For some international recruiters, emlyon
business school is attractive as it is one the best Business Schools in Europe (cf
rankings).
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 Do not ever forget it, and do not let recruiters forget it either. So the name of the
school is like a passport to the working world.
The proper way to write the school name is “emlyon business school”.
− emlyon business school
− your degree or programme within emlyon (to adapt to your recruiters country)
− relevant courses (relevant to the recruiter)
− language of courses if relevant (for instance for a non-French native, following
courses in French will be an asset if aiming to work in a French speaking
environment)
− dates of study (including expected graduation date)
− international rankings if targetting recruiters outside France (choose the best
between rankings of your degree/programme and rankings of the school)
− Exchange programmes if you follow some
− Previous degrees from other universities/schools, following the same format
than the emlyon presentation (they do not need to be as detailed, your key is
again the recruiters' requirements)
− You do not need to include your Alevels or equivalents, unless for a very
specific reason
− Include degrees, but do not detail every year of a 3-year bachelor for instance.
Specificities: in case of a double or triple degree, you need to find a presentation that
is easy to read, and shows that you follow several programmes at the same time.

If you are a student or have less than 3 year experience, your education is an
important part of your strengths. As such, your education paragraph should take at
least 25% (and up to 66%) of the space on your CV.

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25 - Experience paragraph

It will present each past experience. You can include volunteer experience and
internships in that paragraph (but be careful not to name it “professional experience”
if you do).
For each past experience, include:
− Employers name: Be sure to include the name as known in your targeted
country. If employer's name consists of initials, include full name afterwards.
Other information might be relevant, but exclude them if they are not: location,
number of employees, turnover...
− Industry presentation with relevant keywords is compulsory.
− Position title: choose the one that is adapted to the recruiters. Avoid the simple
“intern” or “internship” and prefer, for instance “customer relationship intern”
− Missions/Tasks: list all the missions you had to do, then choose the most
relevant ones. Check also the order of your missions to match recruiters
expectations. You can use the material from Career Farm professional report.

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 − Results/Achievements: If you worked there, you achieved something. Write
results or achievement convincingly, using action verbs. They can be results
for the employer (highly preferable) or for you. (for instance in a student job of
salesperson, your achievements could be “increased sales by X% and got a
personal knowledge of customer expectations”, the latter being always useful
in a marketing position)
− Partners: it is sometimes useful (but not always!) to include some partner
industry and/or names in your experience. Partners can be service providers,
suppliers, customers, distributors... Specifically if you wish to change industry,
and you worked with suppliers from the targetted industry, it is relevant to add
a “supplier” part in your experience paragraph. (For instance if you worked in a
corporate finance department and wish to join a bank, it might be useful to
name partner banks on your experience...)

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26 - Profile
It states your strengths, goals and motivations, in one or two lines, and is mostly used
in North America and countries using american CV formats.
Be really careful according to countries, as a very good profile for anglo-saxon
countries can be seen as boasting (and very bad taste) in latin culture countries,
including France.

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27 - Skills paragraph
Skills are seen by recruiters as already used in the workplace. So, as students, you
need to be really careful with that part. You could include language skills here, as well
as computer skills (but knowing MSOffice is such a given that there is no need to
mention it). Mention computer skills that are specific to an industry or a job.
If you wish to highlight in your CV skills that you learnt during studying, prefer
mentioning courses in your education paragraph or related projects.
However, towards the end of your degree, or if you have already worked, you will
have skills (used and demonstrated in a workplace) to present.
If you choose to present skills, you have to do it convincingly. Having a list looking
like a job dscription paragraph has no interest whatsoever.

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28 - Languages
Languages are an important part of your skills, especially aiming for an international
career. They prove two things: your ability to work in a language, but also your

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motivation to work in a country/part of the world, your willingness to integrate to the
culture.
It is essential that your level is easily understandable by the recruiter. Remember: a
CV is about skills in the workplace. Recruiters are interested by your level NOW. So if
the language is needed, learn it, don't plan to learn it after recruitment.
To make it real simple, for recruiters there are only 3 levels that count (everything in-
between will only be useful for the recruiter as the lower level)
1/ Fluent => you can work in that language (meaning, you can speak, read and write
without more mistakes than natives, have a fluid phone conversation... all day long)
2/ Conversational level => Unable to work in the language, but you can talk => you
will still need to have a translator or work in an international language, but if you know
the country's language, it will help your integration in the company
3/ No knowledge of the language.

On your CV, your languages skills should be visible, so don't squash them all on one
line for 3 languages!
Take at least one line per language. Order them according to recruiters' expectations,
not according to your level!
Give proof when you have some (tests results or lengths of time in a country or
studies in a language...). If you don't have a test result, but you are fluent in a
language, don't worry: recruiters will test you themselves if needed.

Beware: “Native” means this is your mother tongue.

“Bilingual” means you also have good cultural notions in the language (usually you
have lived in the country)
“Fluent” means you are able to work in the language, talk and write fluidly.
“Intermediate level” is not clear enough, you need to specifiy if you are good at
conversation and/or reading/writing
« Notions » is self-explanatory
Avoid terms such as « spoken-read-written », « medium level »

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29 - Projects paragraph
It can be interesting to have a specific “projects” paragraph, especially if your
targetted job requires skills in project management, and you did not develop these
skills in your past internships or work experience. You can include projects that you
were part of in your studies, in volunteer experience... You can present them like in
the experience paragraph, and you need to state precisely your role, as project work
is always team work.

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30 - Achievements paragraph

CV Guide Page 34/38

Achievements are interesting proofs of your motivation and skills. They are typically
awards, grants, outstanding results in sports or other challenging fields.
They are more common in some countries (China and North America) than other
(Europe). If you have a lot of achievements, congratulations, but keep in mind that
this part should not take half your page... Find a presentation that is easy to read and
still show your strengths.

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31 - Extra-curricular experience paragraph

If you have experience that can not be included in an experience paragraph, or a
volunteer experience paragraph, you could create a specific “extra-curricular”
paragraph. Be careful though, you should really question the relevance of such a
paragraph. Will it really help your application? Is it not a risk of elimination?

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32 - Volunteer experience paragraph

As emlyon students, you often engage in volunteer work in the various school clubs,
or you may have interesting wolunteer work from the past. You can include them, if
you feel they serve a purpose. What do they prove? Use the same presentation as in
the Experience paragraph.

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33 - Hobby and leisure paragraph

This is absolutely not compulsory and rarely really useful. Students usually include it
at the beginning of their studies, for lack of more relevant information. It should be the
first paragraph to disappear if you are lacking space in your CV.
However, if you do decide to include them, try to make them interesting to the reader,
or relevant to your chosen career path.
For instance, if you wish to work in the fashion industry, and some of your personal
activities reflect that, you should include them.

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34 - Any other paragraph relevant to your background and interesting to the

recruiter
If you have a specific background, you should first try to include it in your “experience
paragraph”. In some cases, it does not fit, and it could be strategic to have a specific
paragraph.

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For instance for athletes who performed at a very high level, even semi-professional
sometimes, it would be a shame not to mention it in the CV. Sports can be transferred
to the corporate world, as the can prove team spirit, dedication, ambition, tenacity
and many other qualities. In that case, having a specific “Sports practise” paragraph,
which will present progression and achievements, is a good idea.

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35 - What about dates?

− Retro-chronological order: Every experience (and education) within a
paragraph should be presented from the most recent to the oldest
− Dates should be easy to read, but not take too much space
− Write only year/s and duration which are key information for the recruiter
− If you have two similar experiences that continued (for instance one internship
followed by a summer contract), the best way is often to fuse them.
− Don't highlight dates!

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36 - Adapting to countries
If you are applying to a country where you can work in the local language, you should
check the local CV guidance rules for layout advice. (If it is a country where you
study, check with the local University career services for instance)
You can find reliable information on the web usually. (For all EU countries, you will
find useful CV guides on EURES website).

If you are applying as a “global executive”, your language of work should dictate both
the language and the format of your CV.
It is either your own mother tongue, if you're applying for a global company from your
country (then you should apply layout rules relevant to your country), or it is English,
as the global language. “Global” CV format, if there is such a thing tend towards US
resumes.

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43 - CV efficiency impairments due to unclear or lack of professional objective

The purpose of your CV is to prove you match a recruiter's requirement for a specific
position.
Therefore we clearly advise you to write one CV per professional target.
Should this professional goal be missing, or be expressed with inappropriate wording,
the employer may not even fully read through your CV.

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So your professional target (title of the targeted position and/or job family and/or
internship or long term position etc.) has to be clearly visible several times in your
CV : in the CV title, in your short profile presentation at the top of your CV, and
eventually if you had similar experience in the past, you can rename your past job
title like your current targeted job position (even though it was not called this way by
your past employer).

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44 - How family status can become an elimination criteria

Family status is not a legal criteria for recruitment in many countries.
As such, there is no need to mention it, and it is even illegal in some.
Hint: instead of mentioning that you are single, you may clearly mention that you are
immediately available or that you are geographically mobile (ideally, for a speculative
application, you can even clearly mention the countries or region where you could
work… and ideally where the company has offices).

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45 - When hobbies impair your CV efficiency

Your hobbies may sometimes work against you. Have in mind that, depending on the
CV reader, any political opinion or religion might either serve or do you a disservice. It
might be a reason of quick CV rejection.
- If you make the choice to mention that you practice a really common sport
such as running, dance, soccer, or that you have a quite common hobby such
as reading or watching movies, what is the benefit for the recruiter? which side
of your personality does it show? Is it relevant AND in connexion with any
quality or personality requirement for the targeted job?
- Don't mention an activity in which you don't actively engage.

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46 - Quirky, useless or uninteresting experiences:

Any professional or non-professional experience, even quirky ones, can demonstrate
some of your professional abilities, knowledge or skills. But sometimes, it is better to
avoid mentioning some of your past experiences, than mentioning it and losing your
reader who may not catch the link between the mentioned experience and his/her
requirements.
The fewer experiences you will mention, the stronger their individual impact will be.
Hint : to decide whether you should keep or delete some past experiences in your
CV, ask yourself 3 questions : “what benefit did I gain with this experience?”, “is it
clearly and synthetically easy to formulate in my CV?”, “which key words and what

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vocabulary should I use to be immediately understood by the employer, and for
him/her to immediately identify the transferable added value for the targeted job?”.
Other hint: once you rewrote you CV, ask a friend of yours to read your CV again.
Ask him/her to rephrase which added value in connexion with the professional target
‘job family or identified job position) he/she identified in each paragraph. If the answer
is obscure, identify were you missed something: is it a matter of link with the targeted
job? Is it a matter of wrong vocabulary or unclear phrasing, or bad grammar … If
several people have the same feedback, think about deleting the paragraph and
show your added-values in other sections…

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47 - Exaggeration, lies, intentional omissions : limits of the embellishment of

the truth
Were you ever tempted to lie, to exaggerate or to omit some information in order to
artificially increase the impact of your CV and/or embellish the truth?

If yes, well … You are not the only one! But … we clearly advise you to avoid doing it!
We've explained to you all the different ways that you can improve your CV
WITHOUT LYING! Start by using them, and you will see that your goal, if reasonable,
is reachable!

Several quite simple reasons for that (it is a small, small world : wherever you work,
there may be direct or indirect connexion with prospective employers even if you
apply for a job abroad. References can be called and asked for confirmation. Better
not to be hired than to be hired for a job that you can’t really do, etc.)
Don’t take the risk to be rejected (for ever?) by some prospective employer, just
because recruiters network, and the truth will come out.

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48 - Paragraph too long or too short

Length of a paragraph increases its own importance in the reader’s view: write a
longer paragraph for the experience that you really want to highlight. Even if this
experience was shorter than other in duration, writing a bigger paragraph will make it
more visible and give it more psychological “weight”.

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