Tip 2: Use Power Verbs
Use power verbs to give added impact to the statements on your CV.
Drove the completion of projects
Targeted new clients
Identified new opportunities
Tip 3: Use keywords
Use keywords and phrases. Many organisations use automated screening of CVs
(even for senior roles) so having the right keywords and phrases in your CV
is vital. Scan advertisements for jobs in your field and pick out the words
and phrases that come up again and again and make sure they are used in your
CV. Remember that many recruiters also use keyword searches to find
candidates for their jobs on the internet so it’s also very important to
have a keyword-rich profile on platforms like LinkedIn.
Tip 4: Keep it short
Keep it short and sweet. I often see CVs of five or more pages (the record so
far is 25 pages). Unfortunately recruiters simply don’t have time to read
very lengthy CVs so try to get everything on to two pages or three pages at
the most. If you have had a lot of jobs (perhaps as a contractor or
consultant) then consider referring to your early career for all jobs from
more than 10 years ago. Just put the dates, job title and the name of your
employer but leave out the details.
For example:
EARLY CAREER
06/02 – 06/04 Sales Manger ABC Company
05/00 – 05/02 Assistant Sales Manager ABC Company
Tip 5: Keep it succinct
Don’t use 20 words when 10 will do. As well as using power verbs you can also
use “CV Shorthand” to express your key points in a less “wordy” style.
For example:
Before
Facilitated the training and development of the management and staff of the
business to ensure that the business grew and staff turnover was reduced.
After
Facilitated training and development to promote business growth and reduce
staff turnover.
Tip 6: Keep your CV focused
Make sure your CV is focused on a specific role. A lot of people have multiple
skills and experience and try to show all of these on their CVs, leaving
recruiters uncertain what they do. If you are a project manager and a
business analyst and you are interested in both types of roles then consider
creating two versions of your CV with one focused on project management and
the other on business analysis.
Tip 7: Consider changing your job title
Some companies use weird and wonderful job titles that make perfect sense
internally but don’t mean much to the outside world. So if you are a “media
fulfilment officer” when you actually manage your company’s website,
consider changing the job title on your CV to “web manager” which accurately
describes what you do and is a title that recruiters might actually search
for. Equally if you are a “client relationship manager” when actually you
manage sales then consider changing your CV job title to sales manager. Why?
Well recruiters often search the internet and job boards for people by job
title so if you have an unusual job title your CV may not be picked up in
those searches.
Tip 8: Don’t send out the same old CV for every job
It’s a sad fact that most of the job hunters I speak to who claim to have
applied for 50 jobs and had no response admit to having sent out the same CV
for every job. This just doesn’t make sense. You must customise
your CV for every job application. Check the job advertisement (or even
better, the more detailed job specification) and see what skills and
experience are required. Pay particular attention to the “Essential Skills
and Experience” and be sure to include reference to each one in your CV (and
covering letter).
Tip 9: List your achievements
It’s important to list your career achievements on your CV. Employers don’t
just want to see a job description on your CV, they want to see evidence of
what you achieved and how it made a real difference to your employer. You
can use the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to help you
structure your achievements and remember these achievements need to be
relevant to the job you are applying for.
Tip 10: Check for spelling and grammar mistakes
Most employers agree that the single biggest reason for rejecting CVs is
spelling and grammatical mistakes. Even senior level managers (who should
know better) are guilty here. A CV that’s full of mistakes is almost
certainly destined for the bin.
Conclusion
Spending some time improving your CV can dramatically increase your chances of
getting short-listed for interviews. All you have to do is to use some of
the tips described above. If you do, you should see an increase in positive
responses from your job applications.
If you don’t have time to make all of the adjustments above, start by making
sure that your CV is error free and that it is customised for the job you
are applying for. Those two simple changes should increase your success
rate.
Jeremy I’Anson is a professional careers coach and the author of You’re
Hired! Total Job Search 2013 published by Trotman Publishing. For further
details visit www.totaljobsearchonline.com
You can also follow Jeremy on Twitter @totaljobsearch