Is your CV up to scratch?

We know that writing your CV can be a stressful process. After all, this is where you either make the right, or the wrong, impression. Even though CV’s have not changed much over the years, the information prospective employers are looking for has.  It is no longer enough to list your work experience, you now have to demonstrate how it is relevant to the role you are applying for and even more so in 2020, demonstrate how your emotional intelligence has created successes in your past employment.

 So, we thought we would put together some hints and tips on how to make sure your CV is saying the right thing about you, and how to make it stand out to your prospective employers.

1. First of all, let’s start with a cheesy acronym – KISS – keep it short and simple. It should be 2 pages long, concise and relevant to the position you are applying for.
2. Choose a CV format with a clear and chronological layout and stick to standard fonts such as Calibri, Ariel, Times Roman etc.
3. Always start with a Personal Statement outlining your attributes, your experience, relevant skills for the role and demonstrate why you are the most suitable candidate for the position.
4. List your employment history in chronological order, starting with your last, or current position.
5. Bullet point the key responsibilities of the position and where possible examples of how you achieved your objectives.
6. Add your education in chronological order starting with your most recent qualifications. You can also add in any additional training or certifications you have undertaken that might be relevant to the role including software training, health and safety training etc.
7. It has always been usual to add hobbies or interests and we believe this is still very relevant as it is painting a picture to the hiring manager of your personality type. But be careful about what you add here. The hiring manager does not want to know about the ins and outs of your Friday nights out on the town!
8. Finally, should you add Social Media? The answer is yes. Add in a link to your LinkedIn page, but before you do, make sure it is complete, there is a professional head and shoulders shot as your profile picture and you have some relevant content on your page that demonstrates your interest and expertise in your specialist areas.

We hope that you have found this information helpful, but as always, the Recruit 12 team are on hand to help, so please get in touch…