Ten things to think of when writing a CV
WRITING a good CV can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting but it is vital that you take your time and give the preparation of your CV serious attention.
In many cases there may be dozens if not hundreds of people seeking the job you are after so your first impression, via your CV, is crucial and if you get the basics wrong, then chances are your application will end up in the B File (the bin) within moments of being looked at.
Clearly there are other criteria too, eligibility, experience, education, but in so many cases employers will confirm that when they have to quickly strip out the numbers seeking a position, they will make a very swift decision to put your CV in the ‘No’ pile if you present it in a poor, difficult to read way.
So, with that in mind, here are some tips from industry experts that could land you, at the very least, an interview.
1. TO THE POINT
Usually a CV should be no more than two A4 pages. Employers spend, on average, just eight seconds looking at any one CV, and a surefire way of landing yourself on the no pile is to send them your entire life story. Keep it punchy, to the point.
2. MAKE IT YOURS
Employers will spot a ‘Yellow Pack’ CV straight away, something that has been fired out to lots of employers to save time. That’s a huge mistake, it’s insulting to your prospective employer. Change your CV for each role that you apply for. Research the company and use the job advert to work out exactly what skills you should point out to them. Make it easy for them to see you have taken time to tailor the CV to their needs.
3. TELL THEM WHO YOUR ARE
Don’t just assume an employer will see how your experience relates to their job. Instead, use a short personal statement to explain why you are the best person for the job. This should be reflected in your cover letter.
4. DON’T LEAVE GAPS
We are a cynical bunch and leaving obvious gaps on your CV immediately makes employers suspicious – and they won’t give you the benefit of the doubt.
If you’ve been out of work it can be a worry but just put a positive spin on it. Did you do a course, volunteer work or develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork or project management? If so, shout about it.
5. KEEP IT UPDATED
You should keep your CV current, whether you’re looking for a job or not. Every time something significant occurs in your career, record it so you don’t later forget something that could be important.
6. DON’T SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT
Employers may not look for mistakes on CVs, but if they are there they will see them – simple things, spelling, grammar, it just opens the door to the rejection room. Remember the company or business advertising a position will be dealing with huge numbers of applications so if you are careless and make avoidable errors, you are literally shooting yourself in the foot and don’t be surprised if you get a ‘No’. Don’t be arrogant and assume you have dotted every t and crossed every i (please tell me you noticed that mistake) and use a spellchecker or better still get someone else to read your CV as a second set of eyes often sees the errors you miss.
7. HONESTY THE BEST POLICY
Everyone lies on their CV, right? No! Stop! Blatant lies on your CV can land you in a whole lot of trouble when it comes to employers checking your background and references. The last thing you want is to start work and then lose your new job for lying. You also may get caught out at the interview stage when you suddenly can’t answer questions on what you claim to know.
8. THE MATHS
This may sound dull but by backing up your achievements with numbers it makes selling yourself much easier. When writing your work history, don’t just say that you increased sales; tell them you increased sales by 70% over a six month period. Get it? Big numbers are especially good (although don’t forget point seven of our list!).
9. MAKE IT LOOK GOOD
We live in a world where image is everything, and that also goes for your CV. Take some time to style it up. Use bullet points and keep sentences short. Use the graphic design trick of leaving plenty of white space around text and between categories to make the layout easy on the eye.
10. MAKE IT KEYWORD FRIENDLY
If you’ve uploaded your CV to a job site so recruiters can find you, keywords are very important. Job titles and job buzzwords will help a search engine pick out your CV from the pile. Confused? Don’t be. A marketing candidate might mention SEO (Search Engine Optimization), direct marketing and digital marketing among their experience and skills, for example. If you’re not sure, have a search online and see what words are commonly mentioned when you input your job title. 6$/(6 $1' :25.6+23 0$1$*(5 ; 326,7,21 1(('6 '5,9(56 /,&(16( )$6&,$ 62)),7 $1' *877(5 ),77(56 ; 326,7,216 $9$,/$%/(
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