Do's and Dont's For Your CV

A CV is a marketing document with the purpose of getting the people to interview. Most jobseekers spend hours searching the internet and newspapers to locate ideal jobs only to email a CV that does not represent or market them effectively. These jobseekers are missing one key fact - there will be no interviews if a CV does not do its job which and this means missed opportunities. If the answer is “No” to any of the following questions you need to take action.

Do you tailor your CV for each role you apply for?

Do you ensure all relevant information is on the first page of your CV?

Does your CV indicate key achievements in your work?

Can employers easily locate important information on your CV?

Most CV’s do not focus on the potential employer

The vast majority of jobseekers write a CV without the potential employer in mind. The likelihood is that they have one CV to fit all roles. The CV consists of a list of information about the jobseeker most of which is not relevant to the employer. These jobseekers ignore valuable information such as job specifications which is the employer providing valuable information. Solution: You must focus on the employer when you are writing your CV and ensure that you target their needs. Tell the employer how you can solve their problems. Maximise the use of job specification and other valuable information about the employer that you can get.

Most CV’s lack evidence

Most CV’s read as a list of job responsibilities and tasks. Ok this will tell the employer what an applicant was paid to do but it does not tell the employer how they did it.   These CV’s are bland and lack impact. Solution: Your CV needs evidence in the form of achievements which should be tagged to your responsibilities. Remember a job responsibility identifies what you were tasked to do whereas an achievement provides valuable information on how you did it. Achievements will help tell a story and add impact to your CV.

Most CV’s ignore layout and format

A CV has 20 seconds to make an impact so jobseekers cannot afford to have employers missing valuable information. The problem is that valuable information is often hidden in many CV’s through poor layout and formatting. Solution: Your CV layout and format should insure that the employer gets the important information as quickly as possible. Do not stick to rigid layouts outlined in many text books. Never assume that an employer will take the time to read your full CV.

It is important to spend a little more time on your CV and this will have major results.   If you begin to understand the purpose of a CV and the key principles for success your CV to interview ratio will increase dramatically.

Paul Mullan is Director of Measurability. Measurability offers career coaching (Career Direction, CV Design & Interview Coaching) and also offers assessment solutions to organisations to enhance and improve recruitment process and decisions.

Contact details:

paul@measurability.ie

087 1223308