How to write a CV that markets and brands yourself as a leading marketing and communications professional

I see it every day the best and the worst of CVs.  Considering marketing and communications professionals are the experts in branding, marketing, advertising and communications, it often surprises me that these skills aren’t translated to promoting themselves when it comes to sourcing a new job.

Don’t get me wrong a large percentage of candidates in this area produce outstanding CVs, both informative and to the point, as well as creatively and aesthetically pleasing, but a trend that I am seeing more often is CVs with no direction. Add to that poor grammar, no correlation between the tasks completed and the outcomes achieved for the business they worked for.

Your CV is your advertisement, your ad your opportunity to market yourself – don’t sell yourself short.  This doesn't mean that you need a 15 page novel to outline all of your experience, that is what an interview is for, it still needs to be targeted and to the point. The simple fact is, on an average, we still only get six seconds to make an impact!

Look and feel is just as important as content. Below are my five key tips for updating your CV:  While the look and feel is important, content and structure is key.

Structure your CV making six items stand out: name, current title, company, previous title and the company, your previous roles with start and finish dates and your education.

The basics
Only list education that is relevant to the role. I don’t need to know what primary school you went to. Avoid shorthand and text language in your CV. When providing referees list their job title and how they are related to you. Don’t make hirers guess who’s who.

Prioritise the order of your CV
Your skills and expertise should be at the top. Don’t focus on your personal achievements – you only get a small snapshot to sell your skills and experience? Discuss your love of fishing in the interview (if relevant), not in your CV.

Back up your claims
Make sure you use verbs and back it up with quantitative data. If you say your marketing campaign increased sales, say by how much or provide an example.

Don’t make it too long
I don’t think one to two pages is adequate for a senior candidate with a wealth of experience, but shorter is defiantly more desirable. Somewhere in the four page range for a senior candidate, in my opinion, is suitable.

Ditch the photos
This is a classic error made by so many who are enthusiastic, creative and trying to make their CV stand out. This is a professional document, not a scrapbooking project.

A well written CV should also cover important topics such as your objective, motivation for moving on, all roles detailed to include key tasks, leadership responsibilities, budgets, KPIs and how you met them, projects, outcomes and accountabilities.

We hear the line from our clients every day, no matter how misguided it maybe, it’s about “accountabilities and what was achieved for the businesses – not just the ‘pretty picture’ department.”

As such, it is extremely important when marketing yourself to include objectives and results achieved.

Remember that you only have six seconds to make an impact – your CV is the tool that helps you to move from application to interview. Make sure it counts!