Does your CV get you noticed?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 10:21 PM
Guest post by Kate Walker, career transition consultant and CV expert
Did you know that on average a busy recruiter spends only 60 seconds reading your CV? Sad but true. Especially when you think of the blood, sweat and tears you spent writing it.
Let’s take a moment to consider what your CV is for. Well, it is the first personal marketing material that a recruiter sees. You want it to get you into the yes pile during that 60 second review. You need it to whet their appetite, make them read on and, ultimately want to meet you.
So how can you make sure yours gets you noticed and increases your chance of landing the interview you really want? Well, first you must make sure that all your best bits are at the top.
Begin your CV with a clear, concise four to five line summary statement or personal profile. This should capture the essence of YOU and what you wish to be known for. For example:
Highly driven and quality conscious Human Resources Business Partner. Extensive HR experience including management of organisational development and change initiatives. Excellent track-record of strategic and operational achievement at regional, national and global level.
Next, bullet point three to four key skills. For example:
- Lateral thinking when problem solving
- Strong relationship building, responsive to needs of disparate clients
- Inspiring, organising and influencing teams across cultures to deliver against demanding goals
You will have filled about one third of your first page. This is a recruiter’s main focus area. So don’t be modest. Sell yourself!
‘Without publicity a terrible thing happens: nothing’
PT Barnum
In the current economic climate a well-written, standout CV is even more important. For every national press advertisement placed, some 300 applications are received.
You need to stand out from the crowd. All too often people let themselves down in the silliest ways. It’s easily done. I’ve seen some howlers.
A colleague spelt his name wrong on his CV and hadn’t noticed. I could forgive this but it was the first thing I read at the very top of the page. And it wasn’t a name that was difficult to spell!
Furthermore he claimed in his profile to have excellent attention to detail. Somewhat shooting yourself in the foot, I think.
Now here are some more basic principles to think about when writing your CV.
Choose the right format for you
There are several different kinds, with pros and cons to each.
Consider which of the following two would best showcase your career history and achievements. And also which best meets your personal career aims.
INDENT Reverse Chronological and Functional
Reverse Chronological – most commonly used. Lists experience in reverse chronological order, most recent work first. This works well if you:
- Are applying for a role in a traditional organisation/industry
- Are looking to stay in a similar function/industry
- Have worked for prestigious companies
- Want to show a steady career progression
Functional – more skills-based. Rolls together skills and experience under job function headings, e.g.: Leadership, Change Management, Recruitment and Selection. This works well if you:
- Are making a significant career change
- Have been employed by the same company for a long time
- Want to draw attention to skills you have not used recently
Be a solution to the problem
Read the job advert carefully. Every word is in there for a reason.
What does the job description say? What does the person specification say?
Most people fail to match the skills, achievements and experience they offer, to what the employer wants. You can do a bit of matchmaking here on your own behalf.
Show that you understand what they are looking for by mirroring the essential and desirable qualities. Consider your audience. Are you applying to a forward-looking, creative company or a more traditional, staid and professional one? Using their language shows you are on a similar wavelength and indicates your likely fit with the company.
This is about correct pitch. It also helps ensure you only apply for roles which closely match what you offer. Why waste time sending off 50 applications when two or three will do?
Using power words
Although it is always best to keep your writing simple, many CVs can be dry and repetitive. Read one and you’ve read them all. You can stand out from the crowd by varying power words to strengthen your writing:
For planned use centralised, programmed, positioned, structured
For provided use executed, formulated, represented
For improved use enhanced, optimised, transformed
Achievements
Where possible always include HOW you have done things rather than list duties and responsibilities. This brings your CV to life more than anything else. Adding specific results and successes gives context and backs up your key skills.
For example:
- Increased sales force headcount by 20% in Q2 2008, driving up quality of new hires in notoriously difficult inner London areas.
Always keep your master CV up to date, adding more and more achievements. It should be a constant work in progress. I review mine every three months.
Presentation
Some of the best CVs I have seen fail to impress for basic reasons. Keep it simple and easy to read for us poor overworked recruiters.
Here are my top tips for good presentation:
- Use bullet points, margins and leave plenty of white spacing.
- Keep to two pages.
- Stick to one tense – past tense preferred.
- Avoid jargon and abbreviations.
- Use good quality white or cream paper and matching envelope.
- Don’t overdo colour, lines, boxes, capitals.
- Use a crisp, clean typeface such as Arial, Verdana, Tahoma.
- Use font size 11/12, no smaller.
- Always get someone else to proofread before sending out.
- Avoid “I, me, we…” (I know that Elaine may disagree with me here!). It’s considered more formal and professional to write in the third person, whereas personal pronouns give a more informal, conversational feel.
- Once again, consider your audience. Certainly a biographical sketch or profile in the first person can be useful when networking.
And finally, think quality versus quantity
Be brief. Use short sentences. Think telegram not novel.
‘There’s a great power in words, if you don’t hitch too many of them together’
Josh Billings 1818-1885
You can contact Kate Walker on 0208 287 0158 or 07980 473151.
Email: katewalker136@googlemail.com
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November 6th, 2009 at 3:16 PM
I read this article with interest and would reinforce most of the points.
If I could reinforce one key point for me it woudl be – write your CV to highlight the destination not simply the journey.
In my many years of reading CV afrer CV, the one thing that makes me take notice, is when I read about the end result.
It is a joy to read that Janet or John reduced turnover by 10%, in a very competative market, by introducing a new retention strategy to include x y or z. It is not so inspiring to read, Janet or John designed, developed and implemented an effective retention policy. Also I would like everyone to remember that a CV and covering letter have only one job; to get you an interview. If you keep this in mind you may decide to edit your documents (or ask Elaine to help), so that the end result is punchy and yet personal. Most importantly get to the point, highlight your best features and use (in a good way) your network.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:33 PM
Many thanks for your comments, Jeanette. Very useful advice.