10 Tips On How To Write A Better CV
Employers tend to take less than a minute to decide if an application is worth consideration. In this short article we will explain how to grab recruiters’ attention – in a good way. Keep your CV short and pay attention to detail.
The new year may provide the impetus to look for a new job to improve your career path, but is your CV good enough? Cliches, lies and typos are all reasons why some people are not offered an initial interview. So how do you craft the perfect CV? Let’s take a look.
Be relevant
The key to a great CV is helping you stand out. You need to present yourself well, but you also need to ensure the experience you are communicating is relevant to the job. Look at the job description, and make sure that it’s clear why you’ll be able to deliver in that role. Some employers still welcome a cover letter, but you may also contact the hiring team to gauge what they would like.
Mind your language
Avoid tired expressions such as passionate, hard working and team player. It does depend on the type of job you do, but use descriptive words that mean something. Words like “accountable”, as well as “achieve” and “purpose” are very positive. What was the purpose of your role? Why were you there? Are great ways to show how you added value.
Pay attention to detail
It’s hard to be positive about yourself because we tend to be quite humble, and it’s hard to read your CV as if you’re seeing it for the first time.. Show it to someone you trust – ideally, someone who has worked with you – and ask for feedback.
Keep it short
Be concise and don’t be afraid to delete experience if it’s not relevant to that role. People talk about the traditional two-page limit, but it depends on the sector and the seniority you’re going for but, broadly speaking, if you can keep it to two pages, the recruiter will be delighted.
Be accurate
Recruiters will judge you on mistakes, either in structure or in spelling or punctuation. Use auto-correct, but also get other people to check for errors.
Make sure it reflects you
The look and feel – making it polished and professional – is important. What font have you used? Are there different fonts, and bold here and there? No header? Think about the use of colour. You can really polish that document.
Don’t be afraid to include personal information
Don’t ramble on about your pets or travel experiences, but if you have been on maternity leave, say it. People are more aware of the fact that women and men take time out to have children.
Don’t necessarily include a photo
A photo can be problematic – it invites people to evaluate you on how you look rather than the substance of your work. There is some debate about whether people should be inventive on CVs. If you want to play it safe, a traditional CV, highlighting your key achievements that are relevant to the role is still the best way of securing a job, unless it’s a particularly creative sector.
Include interesting hobbies
Team sports look good, “or something which shows a degree of dedication, but avoid things that are ‘I go out and enjoy socialising’ because that doesn’t tell them anything more about you as a person.
Or maybe don’t do a CV at all
Think outside the box like Video CVs, where you just send in a clip about yourself. That’s increasingly common for younger, creative people. Rather than saying you’re creative, prove it. It does depend on the sector; some recruiters will love it, some will hate it. Frankly, it’s so competitive and HR people put so many hurdles in, if you can circumvent it all by sending a video to a senior person in a company saying ‘this is me, can I come and work for you?’ and they say yes, that’s worth doing.
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