CV Spit and Polish
At interview you can offer your best handshake, sparkle in your most stylish suit and charm offensive with your widest smile... BUT there is no point dusting that suit off or cleaning your clammy mits if you have not put the same amount of effort in your CV. This is the starting point of your career and one that needs in theory, the most TLC.
CVs pour through the hands of recruiters daily. Don’t let yours slip into the ‘doomed No’ pile without a fight.
1 Short & Punchy:
Keep it short. Most people follow the ‘two A4s per CV’ rule. If you can’t, you run the risk of looking like a job hopper or a rambler, neither will impress a potential employer. Many applicants seem to believe the more they write, the more it looks like they know. This is not true at all.
2 Keep it relevant:
Whilst you should be able to send your CV on mass to every job you apply for, like your covering letter, make some tweaks to ensure your listed job experience is relevant to the role in question. Do not bother applying to any roles that you have no relevant experience for. You are simply wasting your time.
3 Be selective:
Don’t include every job you have ever had since you were 16. Chances are, the fact that you worked in McDonalds or the local supermarket 20 years ago won’t do you any special favours now. Your latest 2-3 roles should contain the most facts and really sell what you have been most recently doing. Pull out major achievements and key responsibilities to give a concise but thorough overview of your career history.
4 Bad Grammar/spelling:
This is the piece de la resistance. If you can’t spell or put together a sentence correctly, it really doesn’t matter what you are writing. You may have won awards or achieved the best sales targets, but if written incorrectly, you won’t even pass the ’maybe’ pile; you will go straight to ‘no’. Check and check again for any typos.
5 Stay traditional:
With all the advances in technology, you can really go to town on your CV...but there are no real proven advantages to this. Recruiters want the facts, plain solid facts about why you are appropriate for their position. Content speaks louder than anything and they will see through all your bells and whistles to find it. As a Leisurejobs Consultant said, ‘It’s not a graphic design competition. Different fonts, sizes and images don’t add any value”.
6 Flirting with the truth:
Avoid the temptation to go from adding a little sparkle to your CV to full blown lying. Most references will be checked and if you are offered a job, it is most likely to be withdrawn if you are found to be telling untruths. If you feel you need to ‘exaggerate’, you are applying for the wrong role.
So in essence, follow these simple steps and you could create yourself a Wow factor. Most importantly, read through your CV yourself. Make sure it flows. Take out any useless facts and if you are asking yourself ‘why would anyone employ me?’ after reading it, start again. Don’t lie, simply reformat and dig out the really important bits of your career history and make them stand out. Your CV is your pathway to success and preparation is everything. Good luck.
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