As the resumé is an essential part of the hiring process, it must be written with utmost care so as to attract the attention of recruiters in just a few minutes. To do this, follow these simple rules.

The first concerns the layout. Over four-fifths of hiring managers believe that the impression given off by a resumé’s style, design and language has an effect on the hiring process, according to a new survey by Canva.

This is because hiring professionals usually spend between 30 seconds and three minutes reading a resumé before determining whether its creator is likely to be a good match for a particular position. Hence, it’s important that the document is visually appealing.

Applicants, however, tend to think that simplicity and seriousness are the keys to a striking resumé. In truth, recruitment managers wouldn’t mind seeing a little more creativity: they’d like resumés to be more colourful and contain more visual elements.

But be careful not to go overboard: a resumé with more graphics or stylistic elements may work in your favour if you work in the creative industries, but might not be as appropriate in other sectors.

Generally, hiring professionals agree that the resumés they receive are too text-heavy. It’s in jobseekers’ best interest to make them less dense, by inserting images, graphics, and interactive and/or clickable content.

Crafting a successful resumé requires a certain amount of expertise; yet, applicants often feel they have neither the skills nor the software to achieve this. Over 30% of those surveyed by Canva also say they lack the time to come up with an attractive resumé.

There are a multitude of platforms that use artificial intelligence to help users create personalised resumés in a matter of minutes. Some 45% of jobseekers have already used these tools to create their CVs, and even say they’d be willing to repeat the experience.

In fact, 56% of them claim to be “very satisfied” with the appearance of their resumé, compared with 33% of counterparts who didn’t use AI.