The Key to Landing the Job: 4 CV Tips for International Students

Written by Jing Chin

As a fresh grad out of university, I have been actively seeking for jobs and slowly learning as I go through the process.

Having shared my experience as an international student with my peers and fellow graduates, I found that we often encounter similar issues as international students. We often make mistakes with our CV by using the format and structure we have used back in our home country. Without seeking help from locals or professionals, we think there is nothing wrong with it but in fact, there are many factors that cause us to be rejected right off the bat.

In this blog, I will be sharing some tips from my experiences, that will help international students with creating a successful CV.

1. Review Professional CVs In The Country You’re Located

This is a simple solution, yet it is often overlooked.

I first noticed the issue with my CV when I started applying for jobs and found that my resume looked different from what other people had. Knowing that my resume was already off, I quickly went online to search for how a professional resume should look like in the country I am applying for the job. Although personal skills and experience are important, a good CV is equally important as it tells a lot about your personality. Most people overlook the importance of creating a good CV and do not spend time on it. This is a grave mistake as I have learned from my experience along with my peers of mine. By creating a good CV based on the country you’re located, it shows that you respect their professional working culture and that you are willing to learn which makes a good first impression.

A resource that really helped me create a successful CV was the Job Search Secrets (JSS) course from UseVerb. It provided so much valuable information and tips on how to create a CV. Along with the course, you also get access to the UseVerb platform. In this, you can create a CV. It saved me so much time. In the beginning, I was skeptical as to whether the platform was helpful. But at the end of the day, I was thankful that I stumbled upon this platform as my CV was fixed and I got so much value from the course. In exchange for $29.99, I think that this is a worthy tool to assist fresh grads who have no idea what they must do as they will be rewarded with success in exchange for the price they have paid.

2. Seek Professional Advice

Reaching out to others for help is not a weakness, it is utilizing the resources you have around you.

Most international students do not reach out to professionals around them for advice or help simply because they are ashamed or shy. Having been in that position, I understand the feeling and it is important that you swallow your pride and seek for help when needed. As an international student, I often seek advice from lecturers I feel comfortable speaking with and even my university’s career counsellor to improve my CV.

However, if you are still uncomfortable discussing that with professionals or find that you do not have time to consult them, UseVerb’s JSS course is an exceptional tool to get professional advice without having to talk to anyone. In fact, the tool will be available to you anytime and anywhere you want to use it which gives you control over how you use it.

3. Go On YouTube To Look At Guides

Living in a world where we are surrounded by technology, it is important to use online resources that are readily available to you for free.

YouTube is one of my favourite go-to resource aside from google as they often offer in depth explanations on topics that you search for. There are also good examples on YouTube which help the viewers to understand the reason behind each action or steps that are needed. I remember using this YouTube video as a guide when building my CV and I found it helpful.

It was detailed and well-structured, with the presenter giving a rationale for every step.

After viewing the suggested YouTube video as a guide, I wanted to make sure that the recommendations were right. Having already purchased the UseVerb JSS course, I decided to utilize it to its maximum by cross-checking the resume I created based on the tutorial video on YouTube. Doing this made me thankful that I purchased the course as I was able to identify important details that were missed out in the video. As the YouTube video is a basic guide, it does not cover in depth information which is why I highly recommend using UseVerb’s JSS course.

4. Being open to criticism and feedback

The last important thing to keep in mind is to be open to criticism and feedback. This is important because being open to feedback and criticism will help you with your journey in being successful not only with building resumes but in future endeavours as well. When seeking advice from peers or professionals, it is important to be open-minded and not take the feedback personally as the advice may be important.

Being open to criticism and feedback shows that you value your peer’s honesty and opinion regardless of what they have to say. On top of that, being able to accept the opinion and expressing your appreciation is important.

The Job Search Secrets Course is really informative and helpful for job seekers; it doesn’t only provide information about CVs but the whole job seeking process with lots of useful tips. It is definitely worth the investment.

Thank you for your time and I hope you found this blog informative and useful. Good luck with your resume and I hope you don’t make the same mistake as I did. All the best!

• Jing