Badly formatted, messy CVs plague the Dubai job market. Silly errors cost job seekers great opportunities day after day. Proofreading might not be your favourite past-time, but it's essential if you're going to stand out in this overcrowded market.
After spending hours crafting your CV, it’s easy to miss those small mistakes. Google Docs and Microsoft Word offer grammar and spell checks, but they won’t catch everything. To help you stand out and present a flawless, professional CV that suits the Dubai market, we’ve created a 12-step guide.
Disclaimer: We are affiliates of some of the tools mentioned in this article. Learn more here.
Throughout this article I'll be recommending Grammarly, as an International CV Writer, I use Grammarly to proof read every CV that I write for my clients. I highly recommend that you check out Grammarly here.
Let's get started!
Is your name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn URL accurate? Are your links working correctly and leading to the right places? A broken link can cost you a job opportunity! You don't need your full address on your CV but you do need to make sure that Dubai recruiters can contact you without any issues.
Is your spacing uniform? Check for:
The same number of spaces after each full stop (either one or two—just pick one and stick with it).
Even spacing between all bullets and paragraphs (0.5-inch spacing is a solid guideline).
Keep your font choices clean and consistent. A 10- or 11-point sans serif font like Calibri or Arial is ideal for readability, especially for online formats. If you’ve made section headers (like “Experience” or “Education”) larger—perhaps 12- or 14-point—make sure this is applied uniformly throughout the document.
Your margins should be consistent from top to bottom and left to right. Aim for margins between 0.5 inches and 1 inch all around. Too wide, and your content might look sparse; too narrow, and it could feel cramped. You can see some example CVs for Dubai here.
Are your tabs, bullets, and lines properly aligned? Justifying your bullets to the left margin (rather than indenting) ensures your CV looks neat and is easier to read on-screen.
Are department names like IT, Finance, or Legal capitalised properly? Using capitals for key terms can help those words stand out to a recruiter who may only be skimming your CV.
Make sure you’ve used the same format to highlight important details like job titles, company names, and employment dates. Whether you’re using bold, italics, underlines, or capitals, consistency makes your CV look polished.
Decide on your approach to serial commas. Will you include that last comma in a list (bananas, apples, and oranges) or leave it out (bananas, apples and oranges)? Both styles are fine, but consistency is key. Make sure your choice is applied throughout your CV.
To land your ideal role, ensure your CV contains the right keywords related to the job you're applying for. Study the job description and pull out key terms—especially skills, qualifications, and job titles—that you should incorporate into your CV. Keywords are critical in making sure both Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and human recruiters quickly recognise that you’re a fit for the position.
But don’t just stuff keywords—make sure they’re naturally integrated into your CV.
One of the best tools for ensuring your CV is optimised for the right keywords is Jobscan. Jobscan uses real-time analysis to compare your CV against job descriptions, identifying key terms you may be missing. Here’s why you should give it a try:
• Keyword Precision: Jobscan helps you identify critical keywords that will make your CV stand out to both recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
• ATS Compatibility: The tool also checks for ATS-readability, ensuring your CV has the proper formatting and structure to pass through automated systems without getting filtered out.
• Customised Feedback: By scanning multiple job descriptions, Jobscan offers tailored feedback so you can adjust your CV for specific roles, boosting your chances of landing interviews.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are widely used by companies in Dubai. There are a few things that you can do to help your CV upload correctly to an ATS. Keep your formatting simple. Use standard section headings (like Experience, Skills, Education), avoid images or graphics, and stick to widely-used fonts like Calibri or Arial.
Make sure your file is in an ATS-friendly format like a .docx or PDF, and avoid text in headers or footers, which many ATS systems can’t read. This way, your CV has a better chance of landing in front of a hiring manager.
Did you remember to add a full stop at the end of each sentence? It may seem small, but these details matter.
Once you’ve gone through this checklist, ask someone else to take a look. A fresh perspective can catch mistakes you might have missed after reading your CV multiple times.
Proofreading can be tedious, but tools like Grammarly Premium make it much easier. Grammarly doesn’t just catch typos; it offers in-depth feedback on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and even tone. Here’s why upgrading to Grammarly Premium could be a game-changer for your CV:
• Advanced Grammar and Style Checks: Grammarly Premium scans your document for more complex grammar errors, awkward sentence phrasing, and inappropriate tone—all of which can give you an edge in presenting a polished and professional CV.
• Clarity and Conciseness: Grammarly’s suggestions focus on clarity and conciseness, helping you trim unnecessary words and sharpen your message, ensuring your CV reads smoothly and gets straight to the point.
• Vocabulary Enhancement: The Premium version offers alternatives to overused words, making your CV stand out with more engaging, dynamic language.
Ready to take your CV to the next level? You can explore Grammarly Premium here.
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