Writers' Block? Top tips for the perfect CV

I love reading. Has to be fiction. Good plot (there HAS to be a story), interesting characters, plenty of dialogue, not too much lengthy description of the landscape. Loathed Cider with Rosie and Howard’s Bleeding End, loved A Gentleman in Moscow & …

So when I pick up a book in a bookshop the first thing I do is read the blurb, then page 15 to see if it will tick my boxes.

What’s this got to do with anything??

Well, I’ve spent much of the week reading CVs submitted for two very exciting but different roles and I found myself shouting at the screen. I’m not lazy but boy did many of them make my job difficult. So I’m channelling that frustration to offer practical advice for job seekers.

• Write a blurb. Give me a concise summary at the top that tells me what you’re all about & makes me want to read on.
• Show me how you are perfect for the job. Don’t make me read through your generic CV and work it out for myself. Personally, I try, but most recruiters are targeted on "time to fill a vacancy" and will reject CVs where this is not clear. Tailor your cv to the job description - it's all there!
• Please please please do it on 2-3 pages.? Use an appendix if you have to but if you can’t summarise your relevant experience on 3 pages max I’m going to question your communication skills. (A Whole Life at 160 pages was more profound & moving than A Little Life which ran to 720)
• If you’ve been self employed & maybe done 6 or 7 interim or contract jobs in the last couple of years, wrap them up together. I don’t need half a page for every 3 months of your life
• Career break? You’re allowed, I love them. And I don’t need you to justify it by describing how you spent your time (unless relevant to the job). Just write “planned career break”

If in doubt remember this: it’s not “My long walk to Freedom”. It’s not your autobiography. It’s a sales doc to get you an interview. A few years ago, a job search site published research which showed that recruiters spend on average 6.25 seconds scanning a CV to decide which to discard and which to read properly.

This is what (potentially) you're up against. It has to be clear, crisp and compelling. Remember this:

And when you’ve written the perfect, correctly spelt, with your contact details clearly marked (you’d be surprised ….) prepare to be questioned about?

• Reasons for any career moves
• Why you are moving now
• Salary expectations?

I appreciate if you’re returning work after a break the last question can be tricky but do your homework, have a proper think, & at least be clear on your bottom line.

Happy hunting.

Footnote

For the readers amongst you. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler won several awards including the Dublin Literary Review. I quote from the Irish Times: "No praise is too high for A Whole Life. Its daunting beauty lingers. This is a profound, wise and humane novel that no reader will forget." Leaves you feeling more fulfilled and wise than when you started.

A Little Life tells the story of a boy who is chronically, outrageously abused by a series of adults tasked with his care, and his struggles to forget the nightmare of his childhood. Over 720 pages. Also won lots of critical acclaim. I read it. Left me feeling exhausted. Was almost an achievement to have got through it.