Ten things to think about when writing your CV
Author: Jen David at CV Knowhow in
CV Writing
Writing a CV that will sell you to a potential employer can seem like an overwhelming task – summarising your entire life on two pages, whilst blowing your own trumpet but not sounding arrogant can be a challenge.
But fear not! CV Knowhow have put together their ten top tips to bear in mind when writing a CV. You’ll soon have an enviable CV that will support your job search, give you confidence and enable you to take the next step in your career.
1. Start with your contact details
It’s amazing how many people omit this basic information! You could have the best CV in the world, but if a recruiter can’t get in touch to call you for an interview there was no point in writing it at all. Include your town and postcode, telephone numbers (landline and mobile) and email address. You should also consider adding a link to your LinkedIn profile, so that the recruiter can look at your online presence to find out more about you (and hopefully notice all the endorsements and recommendations you no doubt have!).
2. Write in reverse-chronological order
To make a great first impression, your most relevant skills, responsibilities and achievements need to be the first thing a recruiter reads. Structure your career history so that your most recent job is at the top and goes further back in time as you progress down the CV. The same rule applies to your education section. There’s no point starting your CV with qualifications you gained 20 years ago, if you can wow the recruiter with recent success in your chosen career.
3. Target the CV to a specific role or industry
A powerful CV is always focused on a specific job. If you try to cover all bases, you’ll end up looking like a Jack of all trades and master of none. If you’re targeting a few different roles, then unfortunately that means tailoring your CV to each one. If you have a person specification for the job, cross-reference your CV with the specification to ensure you’ve demonstrated how you meet their requirements exactly.
4. Write in the third person
A CV written in the first person (I, me, etc.) comes across as quite basic. It’s also quite repetitive to use “I” on every other line. To look more professional, try to write in the third person. Not only is this best practice when writing a CV, it keeps the CV impersonal and enables the recruiter to focus on what you’d bring to the business.
5. Cover any gaps
It’s quite normal these days to have a gap on your CV, and the reasons are usually completely valid. It’s important, however, to explain these gaps rather than leave the recruiter guessing. There’s no need to go into great depth, particularly if you haven’t achieved anything spectacular during your career break, but a simple line explaining the reason for the gap will prevent a recruiter from jumping to the wrong conclusion. For all they know, you may have been sacked or imprisoned. Whatever the reason, aim to present it positively. Focus on what you’ve achieved or learnt if possible.
6. Don’t include personal details or photos
Anti-discrimination legislation in the UK prevents an employer from judging your application based on certain criteria. Therefore, they should ignore any information you include about your age, gender, nationality, marital status and so on. The same goes for photos. There’s no need for the employer to have this information, so put the space to better use by filling it with something that will actually sell you.
7. Delete old or irrelevant information
There is absolutely no need to include every detail of your life since the day you were born. As you progress through your education and career, historic information will become less relevant. If you’re currently in full-time, permanent work, you can safely delete the fact that you were captain of the school cricket team when you were 11. Likewise, if you’re currently working at Board level you can probably delete the part-time job in a fast-food restaurant from your college years. A CV is all about presenting the best version of you – if it doesn’t sell you, leave it out.
8. Write a high-impact profile
The profile is probably the most important part of your CV, but unfortunately also the hardest part to get right. It’s the first thing a recruiter will read, so you need to make a great impression to ensure they read on. It helps to identify your unique selling point, whether this be from your academic achievements or career history. Then you can build on this by explaining your strengths, industry knowledge, philosophy or successes. It’s important that it’s unique to you and explains clearly what you would bring to the company.
9. Back up your claims with quantifiable achievements
Providing a basic list of your responsibilities is all very well, but what will really set your CV apart from every other one in the pile is a strong list of achievements for each job. Identify times you added value to a company and work you are particularly proud of. If you can quantify this, it will make the CV even stronger – for example: “Reduced costs by 25% by introducing more efficient processes”.
10. Get someone you trust to check it for you
The quickest way to put a recruiter off is by sending a sloppy, mistake-ridden, poorly presented CV. Before letting a recruiter get their grubby hands on it, make sure you give your CV to someone you trust for a second opinion. Take constructive feedback on board and make the changes necessary to give your CV that final polish.
When writing your CV, remember that it’s your own personal marketing brochure, which needs to reflect the best possible version of you. If you’d like a free review of your CV and an assessment of how it would be analysed by an Applicant Tracking System, the team at CV Knowhow would love to help.
About the Author: Jen David works at CV Knowhow, a professional CV
writing company.
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