There’s so much we want to say when we write our CV. We want to tell the reader – hopefully a hiring manager – what a great employee we can be, what characteristics and skills we have and what good work we’ve done in the past. And we want to show that we’ve got what it takes to do the job.
It’s a lot to get down and more often than not we can over-elaborate or rush to use words that sound good but add little to the overall perception.
Most recruiters scan CVs. If you’re lucky they may spend a minute or two reading through, but often it will just be the headline achievements and highlights that they read.
So you need to grab their attention…and get to the point! Here are three simple tips to help:
Most of us spend ages over our personal statements. We try to make sure we get all the right words in – team player, motivated, good communicator, results oriented – but how often do we show how we match up to the words? Subjective descriptions of ourselves add little value to the reader so make sure that any word you use can be supported.
If you say ‘team player’ then give an example of how you’ve delivered within a team environment…and the words ‘results oriented’ don’t mean much unless you can give an example of some exceptional results you’ve achieved.
You’ve probably read it many times, but it’s one of the big truisms of CV writing so it can’t be stressed enough. The person reading your CV rarely wants to know what your duties and responsibilities were in your last role…they want to know how good you were at it and what you achieved.
You need to ensure that anyone looking at your CV is left in no doubt about the actions and outcomes. It pays to think wider than your day to day role too – for example, what is your record at resolving issues? When have you exceeded client/customer expectations? Any awards or other forms of recognition?
They say a picture paints a thousand words…well a few figures can illuminate whole sentences!
Always express numbers as digits in a CV as they catch the eye a lot quicker than words. And make sure they provide some context too – increasing your department’s profit by £250,000 may not mean much to a larger company, but increasing it by 55% will.
It’s not easy getting your CV to the top of the pile, so make sure you’ve got a fighting chance from the start.
Let us do the hard work for you and take the hassle out of job hunting.
