CV Advice, the $64,000 question….

I get asked at least 3 times a day advice about something to do with recruitment. And in the current climate, this is increasing as the world goes slightly mad. So in order to help you as best as I can, here is my advice. However, please note, you will speak to 10 different recruiters and you may get 10 different pieces of advice. So if you only follow 1 rule, please let it be this. THIS IS YOUR CV, if someone tells you do something or change something you’re not happy with, then don’t. The rest is just my humble opinion

Non Negotiables:

1)    Write it yourself. No-one knows your experience better than you. Yes, get someone to help coach the knowledge out of you, but never pay someone to talk about what you have achieved.

2)    Ignore the 2 page rule. That applied when you physically printed a CV off and posted it to apply for a job. Do not cut out valuable information because you think a CV has to be 2 pages.

3)    Don’t put a photo on your CV, if people want to see what you look like, LinkedIn or Facebook does that. Or face to face meeting.

4)    Put your contact details on. You’d be surprised how many CV’s I get which don’t have contact email addresses or phone numbers.

5)    Simple format, one colour, one font, Highlight companies, dates and job titles but that’s about it. Don’t put boxes, don’t put squiggly lines on, fancy images, the most effective looking CV’s showcase your experience, not your artistic skills.

6)    Most recent job at the job and work backwards.

7)    Don’t write it in the third person. Jo Richardson very much enjoys writing useful information to help people…..what? I enjoy it. I achieved it, I delivered it.

8)    A strong profile at the top which talks about what you do. Only needs to be a short paragraph, not chapter and verse.

9)    If you’ve been working for more than 3 – 5 years, put your education under your work experience.

10) When you come to update your CV, every time just check the tense that it’s written in. So many people don’t change their most recent job to a past tense when you add another job to the top.

11) Explain gaps, you don’t have to write much but if you’ve been travelling for 12 months, say that. Add in voluntary work you’ve been doing, if you’ve been doing consultancy work, add it in. It only needs to be 1 or 2 lines.

12) Start sentences with verbs.

13) Bullet achievements and responsibilities, with more detail on recent roles. List accomplishments instead of job duties. How did you save the company, your boss, your clients or your team time or money? Quantify your experience by using numbers and percentages. In order to be specific, consider these questions: how much, how many, how often? For example, instead of saying you managed a team, explain the size of the team and how many of those people have found success, moved up, etc. Think of it this way, many people are managers and not many are good managers. Showing how you’ve been successful at leading is more impactful than telling. No more than 5 – 8 bullet points per job.

14) Age, religious beliefs, sex….not relevant on a CV.

15) If you’ve held several positions at the same company, use the company name as the section’s header and move backwards. Give dates and job title for each, listing your achievements as per 13) in this list. This will show your drive & ambition whilst being committed to one business.

16) Limit experience to what’s relevant to your ultimate goal however don’t leave gaps in your CV so for jobs that were a long time ago, list company, job title and dates but there is no need to elaborate on detail especially if it’s not relevant.

17) Include computer skills, language skills and any relevant training

18) Add a link to your LinkedIn profile.

19) Keep your hobbies and interest section short but make it about you. I read one recently which said “Hockey, Hockey and more Hockey”. Loved it!

20) Check for typos and ask a friend to read it through

21) “References on Request” – wouldn’t worry about putting this on your CV. If a recruiter wants a reference, they’ll ask for one!

I am hugely mindful of what a difficult market it is at the moment. I thought the world went mad towards the end of 2019 but 2020 doesn’t seem to be much better. Don’t get overwhelmed by all of this. If you’ve been out of the job search for a while and you’ve been a Manager, think about when you’ve recruited, what have you looked for on a CV? Apply the same logic and have faith in what you have delivered and achieved.

And if you’re still baffled, I can tailor an approach to what you need. However, I will be brutally honest, if I don’t think your CV needs much work on it, I will tell you and not waste your time and money. Investing the time now is vital as I think the market is the toughest I’ve ever known.

https://www.winhurstrecruitment.co.uk/mentoring

And once your CV is spot on, get LinkedIn sorted as over 70% of the candidates I place come through LinkedIn, so you want to make sure that you’re in somebody’s 70%!