How to Write a Killer CV – The 5 Step Process
Poorly written CVs are one of the most common reasons why people struggle to find work.
Your CV’s a stepping-stone to a job interview. Not a history lesson.
Most recruiters only spend 7.8 seconds reading your CV, according to Ladders’ 2018 study. Though it would be great to see the data behind that study...
Either way, your CV should follow some simple rules that make it concise, reader-friendly and professional.
Sadly, there’s a lot of bias in this world. I didn’t think there was any need to change your name and race to get a job (this must be a joke, right?) but then I read this study which found people with distinctively black names had a 9% reduction in receiving job opportunities than their white counterparts. Shocking.
Yes, there is a push for diversity, but there is still only 23% of people working in STEM roles across the UK are female. Does that mean you are now more likely to be interviewed if you're a woman? Not exactly.
So you want your CV to have as little personal information as possible, including age, gender, marital status, or religion. Don’t include your salary expectations, and don’t put your full address unless you want everyone to find you on Google Earth.
Here are 5 steps on How To Write a Killer CV:
1 – Clean It Up
Don't cram everything onto a one-page CV. If you have text boxes everywhere, it can be distracting and hard to read. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct, especially if this is written in your second language.
Get your company name right. It’s surprising how many people work at “Ernest & Young” because they haven’t checked the autocorrect…
Also, if you’re a technologist: are you spelling your tech stack correctly? i.e., it’s ForgeRock, not Forge Rock. Most recruiters know to search LinkedIn/databases with all spelling variations, but it’s best to be as accurate as possible – especially if you’re meant to be a specialist with this tool.
Don’t use columns. Having a list of all your education, interests, skills, etc. on the left with all your professional experience on the right might save space, but it looks messy.
Equally, don’t send over a 12-page CV. No one is going to read it all. 2-3 pages are sufficient, 3-4 for most senior people is fine. 5 at a push.
Never forget the importance of white space.
A well-spaced 5-page CV is much better than a 3-page CV with everything squashed together.
Don’t go into detail before 2007 (15 years). If your recent jobs are well-detailed, 10 years may be enough.
2 – Aesthetics and Tone
The aesthetics of your CV matter.
Keep it neat and consistent using professional fonts only (no Comic Sans). Do you really need to use two fonts?
Use one colour (navy or black) and (ideally) one size. Stick to this for everything except headings – however, keep them consistent. Avoid bold or underlining for anything except titles.
No borders, backgrounds, or unnecessary images. You’re not 15.
Don’t mess with the margins.
Make sure your CV is fit for viewing on mobile devices. Send your CV to yourself. You’ll be surprised how many people don’t do this. Is there a blank page at the end? Do the page breaks work well? Can you actually read it?
If you’re the type of person who writes their CV on Word but in text boxes, you should definitely check this out. Your CV may look messy on a mobile device.
For tone – begin sentences with verbs so you don’t use “I”. If you’re unable to do this or don’t like the readability, then just use “I”– anything is better than referring to yourself in the third person. Even worse is a CV written in the third person but without using your first name.
“Mr Kumar believes this makes you seem pompous….”
(Everyone knows you wrote your own CV).
3 – Make It Easy To Find You
Have your CV in Word/PDF. Don't use Photoshop or words as images that can't be searched.
Include keywords, minimise acronyms. If you’re a CISO, do you actually have “Chief Information Security Officer” OR CISO written on your CV? You may not have it as often as you think, especially if you call yourself a “Security Leader” or are using company-specific job titles.
PowerPoint profiles might be the norm if you work for a consultancy, but just copy and paste it onto Word if you’re sending your CV for a job. Reading a PowerPoint doc on a mobile device is hard enough, let alone the small fonts associated with your CV.
4 – Fix The Structure
This should be your structure:
If you’re junior, or have a particularly outstanding education – put your Education after Summary. If you went to a top university 20+ years ago but have no recent certifications: it looks like you’re clinging on to that education being more of a highlight than your entire career history.
If you’re technical (developer/architect, etc.), then put your Technical Skills after the Summary section.
Don’t bother with soft skills. It’s very easy to say: “confident”, “team player”, etc. – you need to demonstrate it throughout your CV, or in the interview.
Otherwise, most CVs should follow this structure:
Name and Contact Details
Include your most up-to-date and frequently used phone number and email address to avoid late response time to any employer contact or interview request. Some people include their LinkedIn or professional website. Make sure it can be clicked. ?
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Summary
You can tailor your CV to different roles by changing the summary section at the top of your CV. This is much easier than writing a cover letter, which many people don’t bother reading.
Key Accomplishments
These need to be factual and ideally include statistics. “Key member of X team” doesn’t mean anything, however “Implemented X across the European business, achieving a Y% increase in…” is a lot more powerful. ?
Professional Experience
Structure this so that it reads in reverse chronological order from your most recent job first.
The dates you worked at each role and the time spent there should all be accurate. If there is a gap in experience because of travel, maternity leave, job search during COVID, etc., then state it. Taking career breaks is OK.
Short descriptions of your employer and previous companies that show the size and scope can be useful if you have worked for smaller organisations. If you’ve been working for global names, it’s unnecessary. Everyone knows who Google are…
Write these in a few lines or bullet points. Include statistics that show off any business or project successes and the value you added.
If you have recently graduated with limited working experience, highlight the relevant skills gained from your course, any work experience placements, and relevant volunteering.
Education and Certifications
List the highest achievements first, written by institution, course name, and grade achieved. Bullet points work well here. ?
Include all training courses or professional/industry standard qualifications, and any memberships to chartered institutes or relevant organisations.
Include all languages spoken.
Technical Skills
If you are highly technical, this is the only part of your CV where you should write in columns. ?
References
Don’t include your references, unless you want every recruiter to call your previous managers and pitch their services. If you put your references on your CV and then post it to a job board, just know that your previous managers hate you. They hate you even more if you include their contact details on your CV.
Some people write: “references available upon request”,?however this is redundant, and I suggest not including this line. ?
5 – Get in Touch
Together with providing senior and executive search services across cyber and information security, we provide a CV Rewriting Service.
Thanks for reading.
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Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
1. If you're an Employer:
→?Read our Free Guides:?10 Step Guide To Hiring A Security Specialist?and?7 Steps To Fix Your Recruitment Process.
→?Download our Free eBook,?“13 free tips you can use right now to hire security talent”. This is our ultimate 27-page guide to building your security team.
→?Or speak to me directly here:?Book a Security Hiring Strategy Session.?
2. If you're a Candidate:
→?Read our Free Guide:?How To Negotiate Salary.
→?We place security specialists across Europe.?Get in touch?if you are looking for another opportunity.
→?Or use our?CV Rewriting Service to Fix Your CV.
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If you liked this, you may also be interested in last week’s Newsletter,?13 Steps to Hire the Right Candidate.