How to Optimise Your CV

In this competitive marketplace, crafting an impressive CV is crucial. Research shows that recruiters only spend 6.25 seconds looking at a candidate’s CV. That’s less time than you spend on an Instagram post! So how can you ensure that your CV stands out with such little time to make an impression? Here’s our guide to optimising your CV….

Keep your formatting fuss-free, simple and scannable

Your CV doesn’t have to include everything you have ever done. It should show relevant edited highlights of your career and be completely focused on achievements.

Personal Profile

Your profile needs to sell your USPs, keep it short and to the point! Around 4-5 sentences to summarize your skills, personality strengths and key achievements.

CV Format

A clear and simple CV in plain text is ideal; logos or pictures are not necessary. Go into more detail for your most recent roles, giving less space to your earlier jobs. Spell checking is crucial, and ensure you write your previous job responsibilities in past tense and your current responsibilities in present tense. Achievements are KEY, place at least 2-3 bullet points below each recent job.

Layout Example:

Company Name

Job Title

Dates of employment (month/year to month/year)

Responsibilities (bullet points, use your current job description as a guide and give detail of project involvement, the team size you manage and/or who you report to)

Achievements 

Achievements

• Add below your job responsibilities, keep each achievement short, concise, and inbullet point format
• Think in terms of percentages, metrics, KPIs, figures, measurable outcomes or key projects
• Statistics and figures show you are results driven and quantify your successes, hiring managers need to see hard evidence of strong performance, business impact or cost savings – this is key in this competitive market

Qualifications

Highlight a high GPA, Deans List, Scholarship or any overseas studies

Awards

Only include recent awards that are relevant to your current career

Personal

A brief list of any personal achievements, community involvement or volunteer work can help you to stand out.

Need More CV Advice?

With 10 years dedicated Emiratisation experience, Mark Williams expert consultants can polish your CV to make you stand out in this competitive marketplace. Once you have applied our top tips simply upload your CV to the Mark Williams website and you’ll receive an expert CV review and evaluation – free of charge!