CV Writing - The Art and the Science

It sounds a bit cliché, but I have always described CV Writing as part-art, part-science. Although there are other aspects to job hunting such as availability of roles, timing along with a large number of variables that are down to human preferences, the economy of your target sector, geography and on and on ad infinitum.

The bare-bones of the matter is that a CV should follow a definite formula if it is to perform well in a job search, there is a bit of science involved. It must contain certain components if it is to perform well.

But there is also a lot of room for adding personality to how it looks and reads to a human [I am not aware that AI can fully appreciate art, so AI will get a mention in the ‘science’ part of this post]. Adding a dash of ‘you’ is definitely warranted!

Which is which? Let’s do the science bit first! What makes a winning formula for a well written CV?

Here's the Science

I'm more Sheldon Cooper than Albert Einstein when it comes to actual science, but I have plenty of experience where CV science is concerned.

You simply have to follow a formula to get the science bit spot on, but you still have a bit of wiggle-room on how and in what order you add your ingredients, as long as these ingredients are present.

If anything is missing, you will struggle to get the chain reaction you are hoping for - namely, an interview!

Formula Layout

As I mentioned, the order that you plop the ingredients into your CV can vary, and it should vary in terms of the order you present your content. Focus on featuring the content in order of importance.

Even if you change the order of your formula, you should still get a good result if you prioritise.

If you are a graduate, you probably want your prospective employer to know that you have an awesome work ethic and if you have held a part time job to support your studies, but do you mention your work at Wagamama before you mention your 1st Class Honours Degree in Business Administration, along with a brief precis of your active involvement in your group projects?

Aim for highest value first!

Keyword Optimisation

Have you ever read a post about CV writing that didn't mention keywords?

That is because the keywords in a CV are possibly one of the most important elements of your winning formula and you may need to generate several iterations of your CV during your search, that is because your formula must be tweaked or optimised to meet the criteria in the job description.

I'd recommend setting up a folder for each application you work on, keep your CV master copy as it is and tailor your applications from the master - otherwise, you could end up with a CV that looks much different from the original if you keep chopping and changing the content.

Achievements

Adding what you did in your last or current role is possibly much less important than stating the outcome of your actions, in other words, how did what you did equate to increasing revenue, cutting costs or saving time - all the things that will make a business leaner, more productive and perhaps most importantly, boost the bottom line!

There is a mini-formula that you can follow here:

What you did, what did that result in and what was the metric? Here's an example.

"Researched 3 new CMS package options before implementing X,Y,Z system, resulting in a time-per-call saving of 25% for 25 customer service agents".

That is pretty specific and easy to determine your value on that one bullet alone.

Just a final work on achievements, when using cash figures or percentages, use the one the puts you in the best light possible, for example, an ￡800 per month increase may equate to a 20% saving, so possibly the most impressive is the 20%.

If you reduced costs by 2%, but that equates to ￡2M per annum - use the cash figure!

Industry or Role Expectations

Recruiters are awesome at reading between the lines. Recruiters who source candidates for specific roles or industries will work will be looking for specific basic qualifications, certifications, for example, there is a basic level one must achieve in terms of safety compliance before working offshore. So include them in your CV, Plus any additional training you have undertaken.

This goes for any professional memberships that will boost you as a candidate, security clearances, teaching qualifications, research and/or [links to] publications, design or writing portfolio links and General Medical Council registration.

Remember to keep membership or registration numbers private, just the fact that you are a member or registered is sufficient for the CV.

Now for the Art

This is where you can add your personality and story-telling ability, overlaying the 'must include' content that makes up the science of your CV with more of 'you', this includes a little creativity, language and tone which gives your CV some character and identity.

Visuals

Careful here, we're not talking clipart. If you are in a visual role, then you can take care of a visual CV yourself. We are talking about colours, typography and font choice, layout, spacing and the order you present your content.

In terms of colours on your CV, less is more! It is OK to have your headings in a different colour, but not too different, avoid pale colours that won't stand out. It might be best to stick to dark blue, or dark grey. Using a primary colour may be too much! Aim for subtle and only use one other colour than black in your CV.

Font choice? Sans serif is easier to read, especially if you drop your font size down to 10pt. Serif fonts lose impact as they get smaller. If you go for Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, you are pretty safe.

Easy on the bold text too - there may be some figures that you would like to 'pop' out of your CV or headings, but blocks of bold text could be a negative.

Story Telling

Like a great tour guide, you will want to lead your reader through your career story, pointing out highlights and achievements, key projects or areas of personal pride that add value.

Presenting your career in the correct order is an art, reverse chronological order with most important details first and older yet still relevant content further down the page.

Tell your story!

Tailoring

As well as including keywords, you will want to balance the content in terms of technical skills, soft skills, achievements, qualifications, and keywords!

You will want to do a little tailoring in terms of the culture of the target business you are approaching [research required obviously]. Is the business very people-oriented? Will it be performance-driven? Creative?

Draping your content around these data points to get the best 'fit' is definitely an art!

Getting the balance between Science and Art is...well, an art in itself, make it personal, but include the science for a winning formula!