Recipe For A Great CV
As a career coach and career preparation expert working on the Future Jobs Fund Programme aimed at getting young people aged 18 to 24 back into work, I have the opportunity to review many CVs. For many of these young people it is their first foray into the world of work, so I wanted to address the top eight CV shortfalls. In this article you'll learn how to make your CV stand out and shine.
Email Addresses:
I am often surprised at some of the names people develop and list for their email address. I've actually seen ones like This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Think about this for a minute. If you are an employer or a recruiter, what's your FIRST impression of a person that would use this as an email address? I suggest you try to use your first and last name as your email address. Additionally, I also recommend getting an email address that you exclusively use during your job search. Having a separate email address for your job search helps you to track your search activities more efficiently.
No "WIIFM" Paragraph for an Employer:
Of course, employers are all tuned into their favorite radio station, WIIFM - What's in it for me? People in career transition often make the mistake of putting an objective stating what he/she wants with no regard for what it is the employer is seeking. Instead of an objective, you want to use a "Profile" paragraph to introduce your skills and abilities and leverage your personal brand. How are YOU different from everyone else who has the same job title? Relate your profile to the top three to five requirements for which the employer is seeking.
Data Dumping:
Are you suffering from "TMI" on your résumé - too much information? Remember, studies show that on average, a recruiter or a hiring manager only takes 10-45 seconds to look at your CV for the first time. If you've included everything you've done in the past 30 years, you are data dumping. You need to include the skills and abilities that are relevant to TODAY's marketplace. Most employers, hiring managers, and recruiters are generally interested in the last 10-15 years since that is what's relevant to today's market challenges.
Use hyperlinks:
According to Webopedia, an hyperlink is an element in an electronic document that links to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document. Typically, you click on the hyperlink to follow the link. They are useful on your CV so that employers or recruiters can click on the link to find out more about the companies you've worked for. For example Gordon Brown's CV:
June 2007 to May 2010
The Government
Prime Minister
Contact Information:
Many people use a header function to enter their contact information. Why is doing this a mistake? Many CV scanning software systems cannot "read" header and footer information, so the information is missed and could cause you to miss an opportunity!
For more CV writing tips check out article "Tips for writing a compelling CV"
Written by Fiona Biggins, adapted from the article Using the Web for Work By Kristen Jacoway
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