5 CV tips to help job seekers

As a Recruitment Director I'm receiving an increasing number of new CV's, and calls from job seekers, who haven't written a CV in years and who don't have the knowledge to ensure their CV is searchable on job boards.

Listening to their fears and frustration I have decided, like many others have done, to give something back to assist those made redundant because of this pandemic.

I’ve therefore written a quick 5-point tick list for those job seekers in the unfortunate position of redundancy, to help get their CV seen and thus hopefully find work. With 20+ years of successful experience in recruitment here’s hoping I can help.

1.    LENGTH - Don’t listen to anyone who says your CV should only be a page long.  Why?  I agree to keep the points salient, but this is your sales tool, you need to list as much of your expertise and experience as possible. If this runs into 2-3 pages, then so be it! Better to have a longer CV than a CV missing vital information.

2.    KEY WORDS – CV’s are searchable on job boards using semantics. Software tools that pick out key words on your CV and then use those key words to match you to a recruiter search.  If a recruiter searches for “Business Development” and you are looking for a sales role that will include BD then ensure you have the words Business Development in your CV.  Ensure that your job titles are obvious, and you have as many key words in your CV as possible to mirror the kind of job you want.

3.    DETAIL – Try to limit the amount of stock phrases you use.  Don’t include phrases such as “I’m a team player but also enjoy working on my own”.  Everyone can put this. It tells a recruiter nothing.  Keep your CV on point, any words on your CV should be specific to you and your experience. All these stock phrases do is dilute your CV from showcasing your key skills.

4.    CONTACT DETAILS – Ensure you have your postcode, email and telephone number on your CV.  Some databases will require an email or a postcode to log your data. Also, you want a recruiter or hiring Manager to be able to contact you if they do select your CV.

5.    CAREER HISTORY – put your most recent job first and ensure that the roles that showcase you the most are the roles that contain the most detail.

AND Finally – brag about any achievements, awards, impressive sales numbers and give examples!

Good luck all and here’s to better times ahead.

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I’m Kerrie Richards and I’ve been a Director of the specialist Recruitment consultancy Glen Callum Associates for over 20 years. Leaders in Automotive, Engineering and Industrial recruitment my company has a partnership approach with our clients and candidates and support both through the recruitment process offering guidance and advice. For assistance either as a client or a candidate don’t hesitate to get in touch via email [email protected] or Link with me. https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/kerrie-richards-firp-65146011/