Make A Lasting Impression With These 5 CV Tips
March 1, 2022
We receive and read a lot of CVs at Time Recruitment. While we know that every candidate is unique and their CV should reflect their strengths, personality and ambitions – there are some fundamentals that you can follow to nail the basics on your CV!
Common Problem Areas
Some of the CVs we receive are from people who are applying for a specific role we have advertised and their CV layout and content is ideal. This is always a happy moment! But some CVs we receive from applicants who are being too modest. It is often possible to read between the lines and at interview “pull out” the information from the applicant so that the information can be added to their CV. Some are not well written at all, with poor layout, spelling errors and lacking in any substance. Often some are not relevant on any level for the post applied for. Your CV is your “sales document” it is what lands in an inbox and needs to reflect you as well as possible!
With this in mind, here’s our top 5 tips when it comes to setting up your cv and making sure it’s as wonderful as you are 😊
Starting Strong
Start with a summary of your skills and key accomplishments; a profile. This will attract the recruiter and grab their attention from the outset. This personal profile is an important part of your CV and tells the recruiter exactly who you are, it should be a punchy generic overview of your education, employment history, skill base, current work availability, a couple of descriptive words about your personality – and all within about 8 sentences. Not easy to write, but so helpful, and it is basically what will make the CV reader keep reading.
You should tailor your profile to every job you apply for, highlighting specific qualities that match you to the role and company. Employers need applicants to understand the role they are applying for, and the more you can demonstrate this, the more your CV will stand out.
Formatting
A good way to utilise space effectively is by dividing your CV into clear sections with headings and using bullet points to avoid wordy paragraphs. Your formatting and font must be consistent throughout your CV. Double check for typing errors and inaccuracies; proofread to capture every mistake or make use of various online spellcheckers.
Chronological Order
List your work education, employment history, voluntary experience etc put employment in chronological order. Your recent role is the most relevant to the employer.
When listing each position of employment, state your job title, the company name ( with a strap line under it explaining what the company does), the dates you worked and a line that summarises the role. Then bullet point the tasks you completed, not how you felt when completing them. There are mixed opinions re the ideal length of a CV, in Scotland 3 pages maximum is still very acceptable, in our view.
Who you are!
Your CV is the employers first impression of you and how you have developed in your roles, along with the accomplishments you have achieved. This is the ideal opportunity to show that you have learnt a lot from your past positions, you may therefore make a quick positive contribution to the next employer. It will also demonstrate that you are committed to learning, growing, expanding your skill set (all very attractive qualities to an employer!)
Hobbies & Interests
This can be a tricky one, if you have hobbies relating to the job you are applying for make sure to include them, anything interesting and something the CV reader may be able to relate to is always good too, and can be an ice breaker and conversation starter. Try to avoid a long list of everyday hobbies that don’t add value to your CV or may raise alarm bells to the reader.
Ready to show the world what you can do?
Creating the perfect CV that represents you and all your experience can be quite challenging, but it is a vital document. It needs to showcase your accomplishments and skills to the potential employer, especially in today’s competitive market. The more you tailor your CV to the job description and the industry, the better equipped you will be to make your CV / Sales document stand out. We hope these very basic CV tips might assist you in getting started.
Once you’re happy with your CV and cover letter, we encourage you to visit our Vacancies page to see if any open positions might be of interest to you.
