Business Change Career Centre
10 Top Tips To Ensure Your CV Has Impact.
TIP 1: Target your CV to a specific job or type of position.
Prospective employers/recruiters need to be able to match your skills and experience to their selection criteria. Consider carefully the requirements of your target job and make sure your CV highlights the relevant key skills and experience.
TIP 2: Structure your CV so it is easy to navigate.
An initial scan of a CV is usually only 20 or 30 seconds, so it is very important that the information is laid out clearly and you’re most relevant skills and experience are in sharp focus. Use headings and sub-headings to divide information and keep the format crisp. There are no 'right' or 'wrong' CV formats. The most effective CVs are designed with an end target in mind. Experiment with ordering your information in different ways to create the right message.
Start with a profile section. You should write 5 or 6 lines explaining your professional background. The idea here is that you are setting the scene for the reader. I would suggest finishing the profile section explaining the type of role or roles you are seeking. This is something that you can tailor depending on the type of role you are applying for it can either be very general or very specific.
Next, include a key skills section where u would bullet point five or six things that you consider to be your key strengths, for example:
- Overall accountability for the successful implementation of a specific programme/project (including budget, size, headcount, and any relevant facts and figures).
- First class communication skills complemented by well developed leadership management abilities.
All information needs to be short and punchy.
Follow this section with Career History or Professional Experience.
Starting with your current or most recent position put your position, the company name and the dates that you were there.
Finally, have a section entitled Personal and Professional Details. Here you should include education, training, languages etc.
TIP 3: Create content that sells.
Good design should get attention, but it's really the content of your CV that determines how many interviews you generate. Provide plenty of information / facts and figures to help sell your skills and experience. Include a brief description of your current / recent employment to help put your role into context (particularly important if your employer is not very well known or you are changing industry sectors). Give concise descriptions of your roles and responsibilities, including key information such as the number of staff you managed or the size of budget for which you were responsible.
TIP 4: Focus on achievements / contributions.
Differentiate yourself from the competition by highlighting your relevant skills and achievements. Think about your key performance indicators - every job has them whether they're written down or not! - and use these as a basis for developing a list of successes.
TIP 5: Quantify and qualify your achievements.
Create powerful success statements by quantifying your achievements, focusing on the key business drivers of saving money, making money, saving time, improving service etc. Give an indication of the scale and scope of your contributions by including details of the numbers of people / sites involved in particular projects. Highlight any special features e.g. an industry first / the largest ever etc.
Exploit language to create the tone of your CV. Use 'power' words in your statements such as 'achieved', 'delivered', 'led', 'drove', 'exceeded', 'implemented', 'spearheaded', 'pioneered', 'introduced', 'initiated', 'project managed', 'saved', 'reduced', 'increased', 'improved’ ‘successful’.
TIP 6: Sell the benefits of your skills .
Most CVs provide a list of duties without explaining the benefit of those skills to employers. If one of your key skills is the ability to motivate teams, for instance, explain how this has benefited your employer's bottom line. You might say that you have improved team morale and motivation resulting in increased staff retention which has in turn reduced recruitment costs.
TIP 7: Provide examples to support your claims.
If you claim to be a good communicator, for instance, back this up by providing specific examples on the types and levels of people / organisations you've dealt with, and how you have communicated e.g. 'Delivered presentations to expert audiences of up to 500 people'.
TIP 8: Keep your CV highly relevant and concise.
Don’t try to include everything you've ever done in your CV. A successful CV is relevant and targeted to a specific job or position, so you should only include information which supports your suitability for the role. Re-order your CV to highlight experience most relevant to your current target. Reduce early career detail to give more focus to recent employment
TIP 9: Hobbies and Interest.
This is a much debated topic as to whether it should be included on a CV. I am an advocate of including these for two reasons. Firstly it acts as an ice breaker when you get to the interview stage and secondly it can demonstrate qualities i.e., crosswords demonstrates problem solving abilities, Captain of the local football team show leadership and team player abilities. However, a word of caution, you should avoid including hobbies that are considered extreme, rather than mainstream.
TIP 10: Length.
Personally I would suggest keeping it to 2 page if possible, however if you have enough relevant information/experience then 3 pages is fine; but certainly no more this. You want the CV to be long enough to whet the reader’s appetite, yet short enough that they are keen to find out more information from you.
