Zen and the Art of CV Writing
Recently, I was lucky enough to guest on the the Gerry Kelly show on LMFM. It is always a pleasure to spend time in the studio with Gerry, usually we are talking about veggie food, mentoring Gerry on a veggie journey or rescue animals and battery hens but, this time it was all about CV writing. Having worked for Your World Healthcare for a while now, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of CVs so I put together a few CV dos and don'ts for Gerry's Late Lunch Show. We chatted for half an hour, covered a lot of ground and had some fun doing it. Here's some of what we chatted about.
First impressions count: Your CV is likely to be the first contact a prospective employer will have with you and first impressions count!
Getting a job offer is going to depend on a number of things, including experience, skills, personality, but, before you get close to a job offer you have got to get your CV right to make sure you get in the door to impress the recruiter at interview level.
Save me: Save your CV as your name, don't save it as CV or Curriculum Vitae. You want the recruiter to remember your name, let them see more of it!
Be mindful and make it easy to read: Your CV should be clear, well laid out and easy to read. Don't use less that a size 10 font. You want your reader to like you, you don't want them to have to squint to read your typing. A mindful, CV makes it clear you have thought about the job you are applying for and your fit for both the job and the company.
Back to basics: Always start with your name and contact details, keep them centred at the top of the page. If you maintain a LinkedIn account you may want to include a link to it here but only if it is consistent with your CV. If you have a professional registration number, it should go here too.
Roll up Roll up: Give yourself a headline, a short summary to catch the reader's attention so that recruiter sees key words relevant to the job as they apply to you. For example, if Gerry Kelly was applying for a other gig, he might say 'Experienced DJ who has successfully hosted a live chat show for over five years.'
If the job requires a specific qualification, mention it here too and if you have a career objective, it should go here. But keep it clear and concise but remember, this is your chance to sell yourself, you are writing personal ad copy, don't sell yourself short!
Back to the Future: Work backwards from your most recent post. Include as much relevant information as possible, again using keywords from the job description as they apply to your experience. Sell yourself! Use bullet points or clear, concise language, no waffle!
Mind the Gap: If you have a large gap on your CV, do explain it. Truth is, even if you weren't in paid employment you were doing something, could that something be relevant to the job you are applying for? Perhaps you were caring for an ill relative and are applying for a job as a carer? Maybe you were backpacking around Asia and are applying for a job for a company that needs more cultural information on that area?
References: Should always be available on request. Always check with referees that they are happy to provide a reference - it is good to let them know that they should expect a call.
Online footprint: If a potential employer looks you up, what will they see on your linkedin, or twitter page? Is your Facebook page open? How about your YouTube account? Are you using professional sounding email address to apply for the job?
Sounds simple, doesn't it? But, you'd be surprised to hear that almost 90% of CVs submitted have some sort of mistake or error. Errors are usually something as simple as a spelling mistake; auto-correct could be your worst enemy on this one, so, always get someone to proofread what you've written, remember, spellcheck won't correct every mistake. If you are selling yourself as someone who plays close attention to detail, spelling mistakes are not going to win you any points. Same goes for grammar and sentence structure.
Why should we hire you? Concentrate on why you should be employed not your failures in being employed, as it could put prospective employers off. Don't mention that you have applied for 100 jobs, got one interview etc or been to 50 interviews and had no job offers.
Applications for community jobs from candidates who cannot drive and who state on their CV that they don't like using public transport. Don't shoot yourself in the foot before you have started!
Be positive! But not so positive that you apply for a job that your are not qualified for. For example, we had an application for a theatre scrub technician. And the applicant was actually a movie theatre cleaner. Be positive but be realistic.
But not like this: Why should you hire me 'Not afraid if a bit of graft... Nuff said'
Interests: Whilst your Instagram dinner account might be absolutely fascinating, it probably isn't what your recruiter wants to know about. Don't include a list of interests unless they are relevant to the job you are applying for but do include any voluntary work that you do, this shows good time management and a generosity of spirit.
Seriously: Don't include smilies or emoticons :P
Just ask me - or not: Don't say exam result available on request. If they are that bad just leave them out. Saying available on request makes it sound like you failed dismally!
Always ask someone you trust to proofread what you've
read written*
* Hypocritically no-one has proofread this for me so all corrections are welcome.
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