Recruitment consultants and potential employers receive scores of applications for every job they advertise, so it’s essential your CV makes you stand out. Ensuring your CV says all it needs to without going overboard on the details is a tricky balancing act, but get it right and you’ll create an excellent first impression that could really take you places.
One of the best ways to get noticed is to guarantee that your cover letter and CV work hand-in-hand to show off your skills and personality.
Here are some key tips to make your CV stand out from the crowd and elevate it to the top of the ‘must read’ pile of any prospective employer.
Avoid a generic CV
Many jobs and organisations are not the same and a generic approach to your CV will be spotted immediately by any prospective employer. To avoid invoking frustration in your prospective employer, add some key achievements and responsibilities that are relevant to that specific role.
Although it may be time consuming to tailor and amend your CV it could be the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else. Showing you understand the job on offer will clearly demonstrate that you are a serious contender for the position.
Keep it on point
An employer will spend very little time reading your CV if it looks messy and is unorganised. Making sure your CV is as succinct as possible will go a long way to catching an employer’s eye and will make them want to read it.
A general rule is to always aim for a CV no longer than two A4 pages with no lengthy paragraphs and well utilised bullet point sections. This approach will maximise appealing white space and make your CV look much more professional.
Show your personality
CVs are not just a place for qualifications and showcasing your experience. While it’s crucial to do both of those things it’s equally important to show the person behind the CV and the career.
Including a basic and personalised “about me” section will give an employer a flavour of your personality and out of work activities. All of this will ultimately offer an insight into how well you could fit in to their organisation and workplace culture.
Quantify your career success
While writing your CV it’s very easy to only briefly mention your achievements or even ignore them completely. Don’t assume that a prospective employer knows the significance of certain achievements in your previous jobs.
Adding detail, whether it be facts, percentages or statistics, will be greatly appreciated by an employer as it offers concrete evidence of what value and skills you can bring to their business.
Use another pair of eyes
Nothing’s more likely to get your CV thrown in the bin than poor spelling and grammar. Once you’ve put your CV through spellcheck and have read, re-read and read again to check for sense, get someone else to do the same.