#028 - Start Getting Interviews: The Ultimate Guide To Writing Your CV/Resume

Did you know the first ever CV/resume was written in 1482?

By Leonardo da Vinci?

The man was known for painting, drawing, engineering, anatomical studies, hydrology, botany, optics, geology, and he somehow also created the first ever resume.

I know. Show off.

(He didn’t include all the above on his resume though. Why? Because the goal of a resume isn’t to tell the reader everything about you; the goal of a resume is to get you an interview.)

Here’s how da Vinci’s resume is described:

“In 1482 at the age of 30 Leonardo was trying to get a job with the Duke of Milan, da Vinci submitted a summary outlining his skills that could be useful for the Duke during the war and in times of peace.”

Let’s be like an enzyme and break that down very quickly:

• He wasn’t just trying to get any job. He wanted a specific job with the Duke of Milan (specifically) and he made that clear on his resume. Saying that, I don’t recommend starting your resume by saying “Most Illustrious Lord.”

• He didn’t tell them all about what he wanted and what he needed; he outlined what skills he had that would be useful to the Duke. He’d already made impressive contributions to the art world (two Madonna’s and The Annunciation) but he didn’t write about those. He talked about his engineering and architectural skills, both of which were more important to the Duke at the time.

The result?

The Duke brought him to Milan and he stayed there for 17 years. (The Duke was a good boss, I guess.)

When you’re writing your resume, be like da Vinci and have your audience in mind. No, it’s probably not the Duke of Milan, but the Duke of Milan is the same as your future manager in that they are self-interested.

That means they’ll be reading your resume and thinking, “What’s in it for me?” And that means in order to choose to speak with you, your resume must align to what the hiring manager needs for this particular role. 

Must.

So.

How do you write your resume in a way that makes the hiring manager think, “Let’s interview this person”?

You go to where the hiring manager has explicitly written what they value and need in this particular role: the job description.

For example: