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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 your 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.
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 to help sell your skills and experience. Include a brief description of your current / recent employer 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 eg an industry first / the largest ever etc.
TIP 6: Use strong marketing 'power' words
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'.
TIP 7: 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 8: Ensure perfect presentation
Poor presentation can undermine the best content, so make sure your spelling, grammar and layout are perfect. Get someone to read your CV to double check for errors.
TIP 9: Provide examples to support your claims
If you claim to be a good communicator, for instance, back this up by providing information on the types and levels of people / organisations you've dealt with, and how you have communicated eg 'Delivered presentations to expert audiences of up to 500 people'.
TIP 10: 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.
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