cv writing service hong kong

Hong Kong’s Top-Rated Professional Resume/CV & LinkedIn Profile Writers

As Hong Kong’s top-rated best resume/CV and LinkedIn writing service, you can learn from our helpful client samples below. They include achievements that are optimized for ATS scanners, ensuring your job employment application gets read by human resources. Job recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary job board to post vacancies and search for candidates.

Many Hong Kong professionals struggle to write about their career achievements. We can help! Since 2009, we have helped numerous clients in every career function/trade get hired at top organizations by writing personal, custom, impactful career stories that make their unique skills, experiences, and accomplishments stand out! We write keyword-optimized professional resumes/CV and LinkedIn profiles that deliver more visibility in search results, leading to more interviews.

Hong Kong Professional Resume/CV Example. Click to enlarge.

Hong Kong LinkedIn Profile Example. Click to enlarge.

ATS Friendly Resume Format Explained

Applicant tracking system (ATS) is software job recruiters use to automatically import, scan, filter, and rank resumes submitted when candidates upload them to job postings. ATS cannot read and process documents with fancy formats. A resume with tables, charts, images, two columns, boxes, headers, and footers, will likely be rejected by the ATS before a human sees it. Professional resumes use a simple, text-only format. LinkedIn is the place to add images, videos, articles, and other creative examples of your work.

Resume/CV layout Hong Kong job recruiters expect to see:

Format: use reverse-chronological work experience resume format. List your most recent job at the top.

Fonts: use narrow width fonts like Calibri or another sans-serf font like Arial

Heading font-size: 11 or 12-point size

Body text font-size: 10.5 is the standard resume font size, but 10 or 11 are acceptable.

Line spacing: prefer .5 between experiences, but 0 is acceptable.

Resume margins: .5 or .75 inches all around.

Dates: include year and month 01/202-07/2023.

File type: submitting a resume in Microsoft Word is acceptable. A PDF is not required.

Hong Kong resume/CV critical parts and sections:

Header: Your contact information.

Headline: One line that summarizes your skills and presumed new job goals

Biography: 5-8 sentence summary of your abilities and accomplishments.

Skills: add your skills that match the jobs you seek in common industry terminology.

Work Experience: your job scope and quantifiable achievements.

 Learn more about me, our process and top-rated results here.

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How To Write a Resume for a Job in Hong Kong – Our 25 Top Tips

Posted by Joanne Rushton | Aug 16, 2021 | Business , Career

Wanting to create a perfect resume for a job in Hong Kong?

Living in an expensive city like Hong Kong , it’s likely you will need a job, and to land the perfect role in Hong Kong , you’ll need a well-written and well-designed resume.

Creating a resume that turns heads and makes you stand out from the crowd for a hiring manager isn’t easy. It’s even more difficult if you’ve worked for the same company for a long time and haven’t brushed up your CV in a while. What makes writing a CV even more challenging is that standards and expectations have changed in recent years.

Using the right format for your Hong Kong CV or resume

Choose the right order

There isn’t a set standard to how to order your resume or CV, but you do need to make sure it’s logical. Experts suggest you include the following information, in this order:

• Personal details including contact information
• Your professional summary or career objective – more on this in a moment
• Work experience
• Skills, qualifications, certifications
• Education history

What to not include

The hiring manager in Hong Kong reading your CV or resume doesn’t care about your fifth-grade swimming certificate. They’re probably not too worried about your high school summer job, either.

Be picky about what makes it into your CV so only the best of your work shines through.

Don’t trash your old CV

You might be looking to take a new career path with your CV in Hong Kong or are looking to change your focus within your industry. This doesn’t mean scrapping what’s on your CV now.

Have a list of your previous work, your skills, and experience ready to drag and drop into a new resume. This will make what you send to recruiters relevant to what they want and you’re not starting from scratch each time.

Using a photo on a CV for a Hong Kong job

It’s not the norm to use a photo on your Hong Kong CV.

If your current CV has a headshot, it’s better to remove it and either use a logo or take up the space with more important information about you. You don’t want to create unconscious bias when a recruiter sees your photo, for better or worse.

There are a few exceptions, such as if you’re applying for a modeling or acting job .

Do a one-pager

If your boss has ever asked you for the talking points or a one-pager about the meeting they send you to, you’ll be great at this one!

Do your best to keep your CV or resume to one page. This shows that you’re able to communicate clearly and concisely, and the hiring manager won’t get bored part-way through.

The information you need on a resume in Hong Kong

Get your name right

This sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Be sure to include the name that you use professionally on your LinkedIn profile and other work-focused social media. This should also be the name that previous employers knew you by so getting a reference is a painless process.

Use the right contact information

Add all the relevant contact information for you and leave off your residential address.

Have a professional-sounding email address, not the one from your college days.   If you’ve only got your work email and a silly one at the moment, it only takes a second to create a new email on Gmail.

Social media contacts on your resume in Hong Kong

Only give your social media if it has a professional focus.

Hiring managers like puppy photos, too, but save it for when you’re hired. On that note, make any accounts private that you don’t want found.

Get your LinkedIn up to date – more on this later – and include a link. If you’re submitting your CV electronically, include a hyperlink to your profile so it’s super easy for the reader to get to.

A career objective or professional summary

You should use a career objective if you’re relatively new to the job market or role you’re applying for. It outlines why you want the role you’re applying for and the career path you’re aiming for.

A professional summary works for a CV that has a lot of experience and achievements to highlight. Note your work history and two or three things that you’re most proud of.

Adding your work history and education to your Hong Kong CV

The right order for your work experience

You have three main options when it comes to the order to add your work history:

• Reverse chronological starts from now and works back. This works well when you have years of employment history that you want to highlight.
• Functional CVs are better for interrupted work experience, like if you stopped working to have kids or move to an overseas posting with your partner.
• Combination CVs use a mix of both of these and are much less common and so less familiar to recruiters and hiring managers.

Writing your work experience for your resume in Hong Kong

The most important thing to remember when writing about your employment history on your CV is this:

Focus on your achievements, not your responsibilities.

Rather than telling the reader, “ Oversaw and trained a team of three junior accountants” show them why you were good at that: “ Coached three junior accountants to achieve their advanced certifications, with one moving on to a senior position in another company”.

See the difference?

Provide numbers and facts to show the value you can add to the company.

The right language to use for a Hong Kong CV

We’re not going to tell you to write your CV in Mandarin, don’t worry!

What you do need to focus on when honing your CV writing skills is your use of verbs. Use active verbs that show exactly what you do. Some CV example words to consider include:

•  Achieved
• Implemented

These show your activity and all have positive connotations.

Include your industries

Be sure to list the industries you’re familiar with. For example, a CV for a civil engineer could cover many things, from bridges to roads and commercial spaces – be specific to show the person reading your resume that you’re a perfect fit for the role.

Writing your skills and education section for your Hong Kong CV

Leave off your high school

Unless you’re just starting out on the career ladder, you don’t need to include your high school.

If high school is the highest level of education you achieved, you can note it. An example of a CV education section when you didn’t finish university could look like this:

High school diploma 2002

3 A-levels in English, French, and business studies 2002

Or similar, depending on the country you come from and what your education system looks like.

Maybe don’t add your GPA to your CV for Hong Kong

Your GPA, or grade point average for those who didn’t go to university in the states, only belongs on your resume if it’s impressive. As a rule, if it was 3.5 or below then don’t include it.

For other degree grading systems, the top tier or top two tiers are worth mentioning, but if you got the average grade for your degree, you don’t need to add it on.

Specify your course and your classes

We don’t mean add all your classes; you don’t want to bore the hiring manager with irrelevant info.

Be sure to specify the subject you graduated in. This is especially important if your degree relates to the career you’re in or hoping to move into.

Think about your coursework and classes, are any of them directly relevant to your prospective new job? It’s worth highlighting them if so, and if they’re not too long ago.

Show off your skills

Around the same area of your CV, include the skills that are relevant to the job.

Go through the job advert and highlight the skills they’re looking for then match these skills to what you have. You may not have all ten competencies but if you can hit four to six of them, you’re doing good.

Avoid putting a measure of your skills, such as adding a star rating or a progress bar. You can’t quantify the skills so stick with the facts.

Are you qualified?

As well as your schooling, you’ve probably done your fair share of continuing professional development.

List the courses, classes, and certifications that you’ve completed relevant to the work. The Udemy course on Google Analytics is probably important, the Skillshare class to knit a teapot, less so.

Remember you’re a member

List any professional bodies and trade organizations that you’re a member of, if they’re relevant.

You might be super happy you got into one of the great clubs in Hong Kong , but it’s not exactly relevant to the project management role you’re applying for!

What is an applicant tracking system?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a piece of software that recruiters use to screen CVs and resumes when they come in to help create a shortlist of candidates.

ATSs are becoming more and more popular, with 99% of Fortune 500 companies using one . The place you’re applying to probably uses an ATS, too, so what do you need to know.

Keep it simple

An ATS scans the words on your document. If you’re using too much color or non-standard fonts it won’t pick up your words.

Lose the pretty pinks and swirly lettering and have a simple, easy-to-read resume that won’t confuse a computer.

Loosely does it

You want to pack as much information about how awesome you are on your CV. Hong Kong isn’t ready for everything you’ve got to offer!

You might be tempted to:

• Use a small font
• Decrease your line spacing
• Widen your margins
• Not use bullets

So you can pack more onto your single page that defines your career.

All of these things will make it much tougher for an ATS to find what it’s looking for in your CV.

What exactly is an ATS looking for when it scans your resume?

It’s searching for keywords and phrases that the recruiter or hiring manager has requested. The types of words they can ask for include:

• Required certifications

Be sure to match what the job description is looking for with the words you use.

Cast your spell

Spelling lists were no one’s favorite homework, but having decent spelling is going to get you past the ATS.

Be sure that everything is spelled correctly on your CV and use a free tool like Grammarly . Rope in a friend who has a keen eye to check over everything for you, and as a last check use a text-to-speech tool like Wideo to listen for any mistakes your eyes might miss.

Use the right job titles for your Hong Kong resume

As we’ve just noted, an ATS is looking for job titles. Even if you’ve had fun and funky job titles in previous roles, think about the standard roles that would best describe what you did.

While being a Number Ninja or in-house Influencer might sound fun when your friends ask what you do, an ATS is looking for Head Accountant or Social Media Manager.

You can go on to wow your recruiter in your interview – you need to get past the ATS before you get in front of anyone, though.

Saving your future

An ATS generally works best when reading a Word document or a PDF.

Make sure you save your CV for a job in Hong Kong in a format that won’t pose any problems, such as .doc, .docx, or .pdf. What’s great about these file types is that they’re also small and should fit easily into limited upload boxes.

Handy hint : If you’ve not got Microsoft Word, you can still download a .docx or a .pdf file from Google Drive, which is completely free to use.

Should I hire a CV or resume writer in Hong Kong?

There’s a whole lot you need to think about in there – is your mind swimming yet?

Honestly, we know how it is. Not everyone has writing skills and there are lots of people who aren’t into blowing their own trumpet.

It’s a challenge to write a CV, for Hong Kong or anywhere else in the world. Bringing in professional help can pay dividends for years.

4 reasons to hire a professional CV writer in Hong Kong

• They know the local job market and the expectations for your CV or resume because they work in the industry every day
• Your Hong Kong CV writer knows how to take what you do and craft it into a list of coherent, measurable achievements
• Writing is their job – a CV writer will be able to craft a phrase and pick just the right verb for the goal you smashed
• The best resume writers in Hong Kong know all about ATSs and what they look for, meaning you can get a CV that’s optimized and well-written

The best resume writer in Hong Kong

We recommend Elissa Campbell as the best CV writer in Hong Kong.

She’s got years of experience writing resumes and has helped plenty of people land their dream job in Hong Kong.

Her background is in PR and recruiting so she sees your CV from two angles. Elissa knows how to sell you as a “product” and what the person reading your CV is looking for when inviting people for an interview.

To discuss your needs, your goals, and your career history, you can contact her via WhatsApp on +852 9855 9845.

FAQs about Hong Kong resumes

What is an ats-friendly cv.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a software tool used by recruiters and hiring managers to scan through your resume, along with other job application documents. The algorithm is looking for words to do with your jobs, education, and experience and matching them against a list of words the company is looking for. To make your CV work with these systems, you need to: – Format your CV correctly – Use the right layout for your CV – Save the right type of file – Use words that match the job description

This will give you the best chance of getting past the computer and getting your CV in front of a person who’ll be dazzled by what you can do.

Is a professional resume writer worth it?

Yes, they’re definitely worth it. Consider it as an investment in your future when you hire a professional resume writer. It’s not just about saving you time and effort now; their work will pay dividends throughout your whole career. They know exactly what hiring managers and ATS tools are looking for – it’s their job!

What is a resume?

A resume is a professional document that contains all the information a recruiter needs to know about you. It should cover your work history, skills, and education and show you in the best possible light.

A resume is also called a CV in many parts of the world. Whatever you know it as, the purpose is the same; to give to a person looking to hire you for a job so they can understand why you’re the best candidate.

How do I list skills on a resume?

List your skills on your resume or CV as a bulleted list that’s relevant to the job advertisement that you’re applying for.

There will be a mix of hard and soft skills that you’ll likely need, but list them in the order that they appear in the job listing – only include skills you have, though.

It can be a lot of work targeting your skills to the jobs you’re applying for, but it’s worth it to get to the top of the candidate pile.

How can I find a job in Hong Kong?

To find a job in Hong Kong, you’ll first need a great CV. Next, you need to build a professional network and track who you know who will be aware of jobs in the fields you’re interested in.

It’s ok to start approaching them, face-to-face or online, and ask them if they know of any prospects. Connect with recruiters, again in person or digitally, and let them know what you can do and that you’re looking for a new role.

For more details on navigating the job market in Hong Kong , check out our full post on the subject.

Writing a great CV for Hong Kong jobs isn’t easy, but it’s definitely rewarding.

Generally, the expectations for a resume in Hong Kong are the same as international standards, so be sure to avoid using a photo, keep things concise and focused on achievements, and only include specific and relevant information.

Once you’ve got your job interview, don’t forget to get your wardrobe into shape and ready for your first meeting with your new company, hopefully!

Related posts

• How to Find a Job in Hong Kong 2021 – 12 Best Tips

About The Author

Joanne Rushton

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Professional CV Editing Services in Hong Kong

Get one step closer to a job interview.

Let our team of expert CV editors help you start afresh and get you ready to apply for jobs.

CV Editing Services in Hong Kong to Get More Job Opportunities Job Nexus stands among the top CV editing service providers in Hong Kong and helps job seekers connect with recruiters. We have a team of professional CV editors who understand your career goals and provide a personalized CV to you. Recruiters have a choice in hiring. It is important for your CV to stand out from the competition. Give your CV a professional look and the format to be noticed by recruiters and their systems. Our sophisticated CV editing services in Hong Kong include benefits such as:

• A professionally edited CV
• An ATS-friendly CV format to reach recruiters’ database
• Optimized CV length
• Formatting and arranging information per recruiter audience
• A polished CV to highlight your professional strengths and career goals

How it Works?

Submit your CV or Resume and your career goals. Select which of our services you desire.

Your order is assigned to one of our professional resume writers. They will work with you 1x1.

We execute the changes to your CV or Resume for you per the service you selected.

Use your newly polished and professionalized CV or Resume for your job applications.

Job Nexus works with recruiters in these markets:

Send your CV/Resume to 70 Hong Kong Recruitment Agencies at Once.

Job Nexus makes it easy for you to connect with many recruitment agencies all at once and makes it easy for them to contact you for interviews.

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Featured Articles

How to write a cv in 2024 (英文简历模板) | your ultimate guide for a winning resume.

January 01, 2024

A couple of months ago, we wrote this CV for our client, John.

A few weeks after closing the case, we did a short follow up to check on John’s job search progress (we do this for all our clients).

He replied with this email:

Now, I know we produce great CVs but even this blew our mind.

How did John get such amazing results with the new CV we wrote for him? What did we do differently this time around?

So I retraced our steps, and noted down each phase of the CV writing journey – clearly outlining key decisions we took.

The result was this Ultimate CV Writing Guide.

This guide is so detailed, we actually use it to train our OWN team of professional writers.

And now, we’re opening up our secret CV writing playbook to you as well.

Follow the below steps, and you too will have a killer CV that lands you interview after interview.

• What is a CV
• How Long should a CV Be?
• What’s the Difference between CV and Resume?

Structuring Your CV

• What to Include in my Executive Summary?
• List Your Skills
• Describe Work Experience and Achievements
• Craft a Powerful First Line
• Describing Your Job Work Scope
• Highlight Your Achievements
• Education and Professional Qualifications

Miscellaneous Information

• Done With Your CV? What’s Next?

What is a CV?

Simply put, it’s a factual document summing up your career history: your work experience, skill sets and accomplishments.

That’s how most job seekers view it anyway.

And they’re wrong.

Your CV is more than a historical representation of your work history – it’s a MARKETING pitch .

When written correctly, a CV is a captivating force that compels the reader to call you for an interview.

We won’t lie. Polishing up a CV is tough work. But if you’d like, we can take your CV writing completely off your hands . Explore our CV writing services here .

ResumeWriter Tip: Of course, a stellar CV is not enough to land you a job. You absolutely need a Cover Letter. Remember: job-hunting is a two-piece puzzle, so fill in the missing piece with our Ultimate Cover Letter Guide

What is the Difference between CV and Resume?

We know it’s confusing! The technical explanations are:

• Curriculum Vitae  (CV): an in-depth document detailing your entire career history. Often under 3 pages
• Resume : a short, 1-page career overview

But  in Hong Kong, CV and Resume are used interchangeably to refer to the same document.

How Long Should My CV be?

The short answer? Keep it under 3 pages.

When John first came to us, his CV was over 5 pages long. It listed every job stint of his.

That’s actually THE  most common mistake that most job seekers make.

Take it from recruiters like us – we hate long CVs.

We’re not here to read a data dump of your entire work history. We only want to know the most relevant parts.

A long, extremely detailed resume doesn’t present you as a stronger candidate.

As a rule of thumb, the more concise your CV, the better. Leave out fluff and irrelevant details.

A maximum CV length of 2-3 pages is generally acceptable for job openings in Hong Kong.

If you’re coming into the workforce as a fresh graduate, or have fewer than 5 years of experience, keep your CV within 2 pages.

If you’re a mid to senior level candidate, you have enough work experience to justify a 2-3 page CV.

ResumeWriter Tip: Wondering what a CV looks like for a specific industry or career stage? Check out our wide range of 50+ downloadable CV samples

How to Write a CV

Great! With the basics covered, let’s continue John’s story.

This was John’s original CV, which he sent to us for Free CV Feedback .

Now, John’s CV wasn’t that bad. Truthfully, it was far better than most CVs we’d seen come through our email inboxes.

This CV had an issue though – it wasn’t getting John interviews to those senior positions he was gunning for.

ResumeWriter Tip: If you’re not getting the interviews you deserve, reach out to us for help. Sign up for our CV feedback session. It’s completely free of charge. Sign up and one of our seasoned recruiters will take a look at it and give you personalised feedback

So we stepped in to take it off his hands . After hours of interviews with John, we came up with a brand new CV.

This is what his WINNING resume looks like now:

That’s so much better!

ResumeWriter Tip: Want a CV just like this? Just download a customisable CV template from us and write one yourself, following the steps of our guide. We have a CV template for almost every industry in Hong Kong. Or you can check out our professional CV writing services 🙂

Now, back to John’s story. How did we revamp John’s CV?

First, we separated his CV into different sections. Every section has a unique purpose.

Begin with a professional Header. Include your name ,  career title , email , contact details  and nationality .

Next, arrange your CV into 6 key sections:

1. Executive Summary: Purpose: Share your career narrative and give an overview of your entire career

2. Key Skills: Purpose: Tell recruiters your core skill sets – focus on hard skills – at first glance.

3. Work Experience: Purpose: Elaborate on your current and past job scopes and responsibilities.  

4. Achievements: Your Competitive Advantage Purpose: Highlight your specific accomplishments in each role.

5. Education & Qualifications: Purpose: Showcase your academic and professional qualifications.

6. Miscellaneous Information: Purpose: Additional AND relevant information about you, such as languages spoken and your notice period.

ResumeWriter Tip: Alternatively, just download one of our ATS Friendly CV Templates! All the relevant sections are already laid out and pre-filled for you. 🙂

How to Start a CV

Use a professional and appropriate header.

Keep it clean and simple!

Includes your name, career title, email, contact details and nationality.

Notice that your career title doesn’t have to be your actual job title.  (ie. Sales & Marketing Director)

You can match this to the job title in the job advertisement – like John has done – provided it’s still an accurate reflection of your role, of course.

An identical job title immediately catches the attention of the Hiring Manager and warrants their further interest.

ResumeWriter Tip: Always match your CV title to the job title of the advertisement you’re applying for.

• Keep your header short and sweet
• Include only your essential contact information
• Use a professional email address

Don’t:

• Include your address, photograph or date-of-birth – these aren’t necessary and may subject you to unconscious hiring biases

How to Write an Executive Summary

The summary is the opening paragraph of your CV.

Some might also refer to this as the resume About Me section, professional summary, CV personal statement, or even personal profile.

Think of the Executive Summary as your elevator pitch.

Recruiters often only spend 6 seconds reviewing a CV. Half of that time is spent in the executive summary.

As a jobseeker, your goal should be to craft an executive summary that compels the recruiter to go on to read the next section of your CV.

So use this section wisely – fill it only with the most relevant, most impressive bits of your career.

Note how we started off John’s Executive Summary. If you were a recruiter, would you be compelled to keep reading on?

Likewise for you, these opening lines MUST draw attention to your  top selling points.

Demonstrate that you have the  skills, experience and achievements to thrive  in the position you’ve applied for.

If you’re uncertain how to start, think about the story of your career – we call it a career narrative.

ResumeWriter Tip: Before you begin your Executive Summary, write your Work Experience and Achievements sections. Once you’ve nailed these, it’s easier to define your personal narrative and career overview

How To Craft Your Career Narrative

Human beings love the lure of a good story. So when selling your career, channel your inner J.K. Rowling – craft a captivating story that sucks the reader in.

Write something unique that sets you apart from competitors.

Make yourself memorable to the recruiter with a well-crafted CV personal statement.

One of our clients was gunning for senior software sales positions. So when crafting his narrative, we emphasised his prior background as a programmer.

We didn’t say that this candidate is just any  B2B SaaS Sales Director. There are far too many sales directors competing for the same role!

By positioning him as a former Software Developer turned  B2B Sales Director, he stands out from the sea of applicants.

This narrative tells recruiters: This candidate isn’t just an excellent salesperson. He also has deep knowledge of the technical aspects of software design.

Who better to convincingly sell software solutions than a passionate salesperson who actually understands the technology, through and through?

This career narrative clearly defines and elevates the candidate’s competitive advantage .

Avoid Motherhood Statements

Here’s another thing that recruiters really hate – Motherhood Statements!

Below is a classic example:

“Dedicated executive with excellent communication skills geared towards building relationships across organisational levels.”

Statements like those contain a lot of bombastic words. But when you really pull them apart, what are they actually saying?

“I work hard, communicate well and can interact well with both my bosses and subordinates”

Hardly impressive, no?

So why then do jobseekers include lines like that in their CV?

This is why recruiters hate motherhood statements so much. They occupy a lot of space and communicate NOTHING about the candidates’ real ability.

If you want to impress the recruiter, avoid using motherhood statements. Instead, use metrics!

Substantiate Your Claims with Metrics

John’s claims in his CV are now backed by relevant metrics:  revenue delivered and sales captured, within specific timeframes.

Compare this with his original Executive Summary:

If you were the hiring manager, reading these 2 versions, which candidate would be more attractive to you?

John’s original Executive Summary was literally a wall of text riddled with motherhood statements that don’t actually say anything . The poorly formatted paragraph also repels hiring managers at first glance.

His new Executive Summary is far more concise , and embedded with various metrics . At a glance, you can tell just how significant  John’s achievements are.

Numbers give claims far more weight, while using fewer words. They also personalise John’s Achievements – only he can deliver his results.

So  always substantiate your claims with metrics.

If you’re struggling to think of suitable metrics to use, ask yourself these questions:

• What was the amount of new business you secured?
• How much revenue did this project bring in?
• What was the size of the budget you managed?
• How many team members did you work with or lead?
• How many new customers did you land as a result of this initiative?

We go deeper into metrics later, when we discuss Work Experience .

Include Your Most Impressive Achievements

In your executive summary, also toss in a few of your top career achievements.

There’s no need to add a long list of them. Just select 3 of the best achievements, ideally achievements which resonate closely to the role you’re applying for.

We have listed John’s most significant achievements in his executive summary, and supported them with metrics.

If you have more achievements, fret not. You can go into detail about those accomplishments later in your CV, under each relevant work stint.

We suggest crafting your Executive Summary after you’ve done your Work Experience and Achievements sections. This makes identifying your best achievements a lot easier!

Need more inspiration in crafting your achievements? Check out our guide to writing great career achievements .

ResumeWriter Tip: Customise your CV for specific job ads by adding in 2 to 5 relevant target keywords from the ad you are eyeing. This ensures your CV can be read by ATS Scanners , and lands in the recruiter’s hands!

• Spin a unique career narrative – you want to stand out!
• Include up to 3 of your most impressive achievements
• Substantiate these claims in your personal profile with metrics
• Use your Executive Summary to tell recruiters your life story – be concise!

How to Write Your Skills

List skills for cv at the top.

We’ve seen many jobseekers bury their CV skills section right at the end. That’s a mistake!

Recruiters only eyeball each CV for an average of 6 seconds.

So, your key skills MUST be placed near the top for recruiters to see at first glance.

We embedded John’s skills right below the Executive Summary in his CV, and aligned these with the target keywords of the job ad he is applying for.

When crafting your Key Skills section, focus on higher value, hard skills, instead of soft skills. Why?

Hard skills have more impact and connect more easily with hiring managers. They also have much higher chances of being picked out as keywords!

Do also group related skills together, so that they’re more easily digestible to hiring managers.

Order your skills from highest value skills at the top to lowest value below. Remember – CV skills that feature first are most likely to be read by recruiters!

It’s also crucial that each skill listed does not break at the end of a line and spill over into another line! ATS Scanners are not human – they cannot read across multiple lines like us.

ResumeWriter Tip: If you are in a technical role (such as Software Development), be sure to include technical skills, such as the programming languages and frameworks you are most familiar with.

• Focus on hard skills
• Order them such that your higher value skills feature first
• Group related skill sets together
• Include only soft skills

Writing Your Work Experience and Achievements

Now, let’s get to the meat of your CV! The detailed work experience of each work stint.

Craft a Powerful Opening Line To Each Work Stint

We’ll let you in on a secret:

Recruiters typically only glance at the first bullet point of each CV work experience, and skip the rest!

So, your first bullet point must communicate everything the recruiter needs to know about what you do, in one line.

Compare the first line of John’s original CV…

…with his reworked CV.

Isn’t the second opening line much better?

The first was far too vague!

Recruiters would have to go through the entire block of text below that line to decipher exactly what John’s role entailed (which they usually don’t have time to do!)

But the new opener tells recruiters everything  about John’s work experience at Oracle.

It captures  key roles and responsibilities in one succinct line , while giving recruiters a sense of scale of his scope.

It  speaks volumes, with fewer words!

A powerful first line can contain:

• Geography (Local, Regional or International)
• Work Function
• Budget Managed
• Revenue Generated
• Who You Reported To/Liaised With/Led or Supervised

Kick off your Work Experience section with these details to impress recruiters!

• Capture the essence of the job in your first bullet point; include only key roles
• Substantiate your claims with numbers and metrics
• Make your first bullet point too long! Strive for a maximum of 3-4 lines.

A powerful first line entices the recruiter to read on.

But don’t stop here – keep the subsequent bullet points to be as IMPACTFUL as possible!

Here’s what we did for John:

Compare this with his original Work Experience:

Can you spot the differences?

We’ve condensed the loooong  list of responsibilities into much more succinct bullet points in John’s new CV.

Each bullet point drives greater impact and leaves a stronger impression on the hiring manager.

Use Power Verbs To Write Great Work Descriptions

Here’s another tip – when crafting descriptions of your prior work stints, use power verbs give your CV that extra oomph!

Power verbs are vivid, positive words that inspire confidence in your abilities.

Most jobseekers use statements like this:

Frankly, it’s quite boring and bland. Nothing to impress the reader.

Instead, replace verbs such as “Responsible” with stronger power verbs such as “Oversaw”, “Spearhead”, or “Supervise”.

Here are some of the power verbs we used in John’s new CV:

Doesn’t that read so much better?

Stand Out From The Pack – Highlight Your Achievements

That’s right – most people fail to realise the importance of including achievements.

Your work descriptions list your day-to-day experience. It’s your achievements though, which show you to be a stellar executive.

So how do you write great achievement statements?

Use our formula:

Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]

Take a look at how we applied that formula to John’s Achievements below:

Aren’t his career achievements super obvious and impactful?

This formula works because it tells recruiters two essential pieces of information:

• Scale and impact of results achieved
• What exactly you did to achieve these results

We’ll explain.

Every achievement contains an impactful, measurable outcome  and a description of how the outcome was achieved .

For example:

“ – Negotiated 30% (US$500K) reduction in costs with IT Vendor for server maintenance by issuing public tender with well-defined scope of work, resulting in multiple competitive bids. ”

Outcome  – Impact of what jobseeker did

What Jobseeker Did  – How jobseeker achieved that outcome

In your Achievements,  use metrics  as much as possible!

Numbers add a sense of scale , strengthening the impact of your results.

“Captured a 50% increase” is more impactful than “An increase”.

You can also indicate the time frame for this achievement.

“Captured a 50% increase in sales from $1M to $1.5M in 3 months”

It sounds more impressive that the candidate did this in just 3 months!

ResumeWriter Tip: Always substantiate your achievements with lots of metrics. Don’t claim you’re an expert – show the results you’ve delivered!

What kinds of Achievements can you include?

If you’re unsure how to start, here are 5 questions you can think about:

• How did you make the company more money?
• How did you save the company money?
• How did you increase productivity?
• How did you solve a critical problem?
• How did you lead a large project?

For more examples on how to write great achievements in your CV, click here !

• Emphasise your achievements in your Work Experience sections
• Use metrics as much as possible!
• Apply the magic formula to show impact and scale of your accomplishments
• Use confidential data directly in your CV!

Education & Professional Qualifications

Include relevant qualifications.

Keep things simple here. Unless you’re a fresh graduate, no need to go into too much detail.

In this section, include your:

Academic Qualifications

If you’re a former Dean’s Lister or Award recipient, add it as a sub-bullet point under your educational stint.

• Dean’s Honours List Award Winner (Semester 2 – 99/00)

Professional Qualifications

Any industry-related or external courses or training that you’ve completed or are currently undertaking.

For example, if you’re a digital marketer, you can list your Google Ads certification here.

These should also include specific qualifications that allow you to do certain jobs. For example, the CPA or ACCA for Accounting, or degrees in Medicine or Law.

Pad your Miscellaneous Section with only relevant information.

This is how we reflected John’s Miscellaneous Information:

Written and spoken languages

We recommend including only languages that you have native or professional proficiency in.

Interests and hobbies

Don’t be shy to include more details about your hobbies here. You never know when the interviewer might have a similar hobby to you.

One client of ours was in the final round between 2 candidates – with not much between them. The hiring manager later admitted that the only reason he got the job was because they shared a deep passion for photography!

Availability and notice period

Indicate this clearly, for example: “1 month’s notice”

Salary details

Do not mention your expected salary in your CV! Salary information should only be negotiated in the later stages of the job offer.

If you have ready references, list them here. If not, simply mention that references are available upon request !

ResumeWriter Tip: If you are a foreigner with relevant residency in Hong Kong, be sure to list it in your CV. Having a valid work permit makes a huge difference in getting more interview calls.

Done With The CV? What’s next?

Don’t forget your Cover Letter!

As we’ve shared, the job hunting process is a two-piece puzzle.

Your CV is the essential first half of the equation for landing your dream job.

But you still need a stellar Cover Letter if you really want to STAND OUT.

Learn how to write a Cover Letter with our Ultimate Cover Letter Guide .

As you can see, a well written CV is made up of so many little moving parts. It’s a lot of work.

Invest the effort upfront. Like a good lumberjack, sharpen your axe before you start cutting any wood. Work hard on your CV – it’ll make the job hunting process later so much easier.

When you get it right, the results are spectacular. Like our client John, who landed 3 interviews to the 3 jobs he applied for.

If you’re still struggling to land interviews, don’t lose hope. Reach out for help.

As recruiters, we know all the best CV writing tricks to get your application noticed – we’ve been doing this for over a decade.

Reach out to us here.

Best of luck in your job search! 🙂

Disclaimer: The client testimonials and results achieved from our CV writing tips shared in this article are absolutely real. The character “John” and his story are being used for illustrative purposes only. Names and CV details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.

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