How to last longer than a minute!

My understanding is busy recruiters will initially view and assess a CV in seconds rather than minutes - so what should you do and, importantly, what should you not do?

Recruitment is now very much online with company careers pages, LinkedIn, numerous job boards, aggregators and recruitment agencies.

It is effortless for anyone to apply for any role, so how will you stand out?

A CV is a document whose sole purpose is to get you an interview - where the hard work begins!

It is a showcase for you to summarise your education, skills, experience and achievements to demonstrate how relevant you are for the role.

These days, it is not just enough to have a generic all-purpose CV hoping that some time-pressured recruiter will notice you as the 'ruby in the dust'.

You need to put work into your CV and treat it as a dynamic entity, proactively tailoring it to be relevant to every role.?Using one generic CV for every application may not get you noticed.

Every part of your CV should work hard for you.

Your CV should be well thought out, use action verbs and confident phrases to highlight your competence, passion, motivation and achievement.?Use descriptive, positive words over passive language.

Use keywords similar to those of the job description or people profile. Subconsciously you are showing you empathise with the role, and if the recruiter uses an applicant tracking system (ATS), it will pick up on synonyms.

Structure

Use clear headings to highlight each section, so the reader can find the information they need quickly.

Examples are Personal Profile, Education, Work Experience, Professional Qualifications, Skills, Achievements.?Highlighting IT skills or specific industry software is always helpful as many clients will see experience in their chosen software as a distinct advantage.

Your CV can be chronological, skills-based or academic – what's better for the role?

It is essential to include dates so the recruiter can gain a complete picture of your career.

Use bullet points to make information stand out. It's also a great way to use and vary your action verbs.

A CV should be two pages long, giving you enough space to highlight what you need to.

If you are short on space, you can summarise your education to the most recent or highest achievement.?If you have a degree, you can highlight your A-levels if relevant to the role. It's safe to assume the recruiter won't need to know more and certainly not the address of your primary school.

Your CV must be straightforward to read, which means a smart modern and relatively standard font.?Font size should be around 10/11/12, dependent on the style.?Using too small a font to get all the information into two pages will not endear you to the recruiter. Using creative or comic fonts is not going to endear you either. Even creative industries don't send out their business to business correspondence in comic fonts or wingdings.

Using a relatively standard font means you don't risk it appearing ill-formatted or ill-sized on whatever technology the recruiter is using.

Try not to use capitals as they look urgent or aggressive and can be harder to read. Also, spell checks won't pick them up as a rule.

You don't need a photo on your CV unless you apply for a modelling or acting job.?But do make sure you spend time on your LinkedIn profile and add as much detail to that as possible. A photo on LinkedIn works better, and it will be the first point of call for an interested recruiter.?Make sure your other social media is private!

Contact Details

You DO need your full name, contact details AND ADDRESS (or at least town and postcode if you are privacy-conscious!)?An essential part of the selection process is whether you get to the office relatively easily. Even in a post-Covid-19 world, very few employers are, in practice, going to accept applications from the other part of the country unless they explicitly state that in the advert. Most employers are trying to embrace remote working, but more of a "hub and spoke" policy, so employees will still need to access the office when required without packing a change of clothes.

The thing to remember is that many companies use an ATS or CV parsing, so not having the correct contact details and location is an immediate disadvantage.?A time-pressured recruiter with 300 applications to filter might not bother to find out more.

Try to use a regular email address. It's not hard and will be way more professional than princeofdarkness666. Also, if you have a dedicated email, you won't miss anything.?Always check your spam! Many systems and companies send automated emails that stand more chance of getting caught in spam.

Personal Profile

The personal profile or summary is one of the most crucial parts of your CV and should be the most fluid. It is your elevator pitch to get someone to read the rest of your CV. Invest some time in it. It should be relevant to the role and company. It should highlight your competence, hard and soft skills, experience and passion authentically and excitingly.

Please find out how the company perceives itself from the website and social media channels and try to empathise. Find the right keywords from the job spec and try to use them. It is beneficial if they use an ATS or AI to screen and grade CVs.

Many people highlight their career goals, but I can't entirely agree. There is a bigger chance of your career goals not chiming with the person reading the CV than offering anything relevant to the application.?There are other ways to highlight your motivation. And you can save some valuable space!

Don't just rely on a cover letter to say why you think this is your dream role when your CV is generic or indicates something completely different.

Cover Letter

Another important tool. Write a well-structured, well-argued case that you are the right person for the job, referring to the job advert or the person specification. Don't waffle or be vague. Select appropriate achievements but don't just copy parts of your CV into your cover letter or be generic.

Everybody is a team player who can work equally well on their own!

A cover letter is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your enthusiasm and answer any potential questions in advance. For example, how easy it is for you to relocate to the job or explain any gaps in your CV.

Irrelevant Information

Remove everything that is irrelevant and does not add any value to the job you are applying for.

You don't need to title your CV as "Curriculum Vitae" We will all know what document it is.

Other information you do not need on the CV is your reasons for leaving your previous jobs, your references, salary expectations, career aspirations, and job responsibilities from decades ago.

Exclude any hobbies/interests that are not adding any real value—for example, reading. All sport is a great thing to put on a CV to show you are active.?

If you have a sporting, business or literary achievement, charity work or project, this is an excellent place to showcase it.

You don't need references at this stage, and you certainly don't need a subsection only to say "available on request". It saves space again!

Spelling & Grammar

Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct. Many CVs get rejected based on the fact that they have grammar and spelling mistakes. Re-read your CV and don't just rely on your computer software to spot errors. The best practice is to get someone to read your CV to see how it flows.

Conclusions

I've lasted longer than a minute if you've read this far!

It doesn't take much to stand out from most other CVs that the recruiter will receive, but it is crucial if your skills and experience don't quite match the role advertised. You need to differentiate yourself but still keep a professional approach and framework.

You don't have to be completely different or original, as that may not come across positively.

Generic CVs are dull and bland.?CVs with your entire career history, with cut and pasted job specifications, over multiple pages is just lazy, and that is not a trait any company is after.

Tailoring your CV to the role and company demonstrates your enthusiasm and desire to be interviewed.

A concise, relevant and easy to read CV shows your understanding and engagement with the recruitment process.

Recruitment Rebellion helps clients to run their own branded recruitment campaigns.?

We have many years of experience screening and grading CVs and understand from client feedback what works and what doesn't.

We are committed to adding value to the recruitment process and improving the candidate and client experience.

Please contact Richard Bailey or Simon Benstead on 0800 772 3199 or [email protected]