In the ever-changing working landscape, it is more important than ever to have a strong CV (Curriculum Vitae), highlighting your skills and experience to maximum effect. With the average time you have to grab an employer’s attention down to around seven seconds, you need to make a big impression, fast.
So, Clover HR has put together a few ideas as to how to create an effective CV.
UPLOADED ONLINE OR EMAIL ATTACHMENT?
Having a prepared CV in your toolkit, not only saves you time when applying for roles, it also gives you the chance to look at what the role requires and respond accordingly.
Uploading your CV to recruitment sites allows potential employers to view your work samples and CV together, offering a comprehensive view of your skills, whilst also matching your skills with those specified in roles. However, some employers may prefer an email attachment for quick access.
Recruiters view CVs through various portals, but they are all looking for the same thing; a clear, truthful and intelligent account of your career to date, and your hopes for the future.
Typically, employers and recruiters will specify their preference for receiving CVs, so if you want to know how to make your CV stand out, following instructions is a good start.
FORMAT AND LAYOUT
Clarity is essential. The recruiter will be looking at many CVs and they want the essential information easily available. Unless you are applying for a role in design, do not try to impress with the originality of how your CV looks. Recruiters don’t want to be searching for key information in coloured bands in the margins.
“You only have on average 7 seconds to grab a recruiter’s attention with your CV”
James Reed – Chairman of Reed recruitment company
MAKE YOUR CV AS EASY AS POSSIBLE TO READ
- Bullet point critical information such as responsibilities and achievements
- Try to keep to 2 pages. If there is a good reason for going over, use the extra space; don’t just have 3 lines on page 3
- Check, check and check again – no spelling mistakes and no grammatical errors
- Don’t make your font so small people will get eyestrain, or parsing machines just won’t read your document, and you will never get to the next stage. Similarly, for margins, decreasing them slightly is fine, but don’t drag them right to the edge
KEYWORDS AND ALGORITHMS
Keywords are not a magic formula, they are a way of describing your experience that can be relevant to a specific role, or more generally describe competencies and behaviours that are expected within a business environment. Always look at the requirements of a specific role and reflect these in your profile by demonstrating experiences where you have utilised these skills – highlighting the positive results. This is what the algorithms are seeking out; that you can do what you say, and it all starts by knowing how to write an effective CV.
CONTENT
Look for balance; in most cases, your current role best reflects what you are looking for in your next role and how you can add value to a new employer. So, focus the recruiter’s attention here and give them the context of your role and what you have achieved. Don’t bolt your most recent role on as an afterthought with all the focus on your early jobs. It is typically recommended to list your roles in reverse chronological order, highlighting different skills you have developed in each role to create a timeline of how you got to where you are currently.
Don’t just list achievements; demonstrate them wherever possible with results, awards, metrics and positive feedback.
When developing the content think about your strengths, your interests and your aims. This is where you can stand out. You are selling yourself, and an employer wants to know one thing more than anything, are you the answer to their problem?
FINALLY
Think positive; roles are being advertised because employers want to fill them. You will be doing them a favour by being the right person! Once you have learned how to create an effective CV that puts you top of the pile of applications, you will receive more opportunities to boost your career and choose your next role.
FINALLY, FINALLY
Take one last look at your CV before posting it – would you want to hire this person?
If you would like further guidance or support on this matter, check out Clover HR’s fantastic deals on CV enhancement packages or get in touch with us by calling on 0121 516 0299, or alternatively, email us at info@cloverhr.co.uk.
