Writing a winning CV

It's a competitive market out there. A quick glance through most of the roles advertised on LinkedIn will show the number of applicants quickly exceeding the 100’s so it’s never been more important to have a standout CV to get you through the door.

There are lots of different views on how your CV should be written and there are often industry preferences that come into play - marketers love lots of colour and imagery, consulting seem to favour short, succinct one pagers, sales love the numbers…….

We see 1,000’s of CVs each year across the procurement and supply chain sector so we get a good idea of what seems to hit the mark with our clients, and what good looks like from a candidate perspective. Here are a few observations but would love to hear feedback from others on this as there is no perfect approach….

• We have all seen those stats on how much (or how little) time is spent by hiring teams during the initial CV scan. So, the number one point is to make the CV sharp, succinct and with as much impact as possible within each section.
• A good layout is the foundation of a great CV. There are lots of great templates out there so don’t get sentimental and hang onto that CV you have been updating since Uni. The content might be spot on but a good refresh doesn’t take too long to convert into a nice new format.
• Some of the best CVs I have seen are two pages (even at the senior end) so this is a good yardstick (max 4 pages if you think you need more but remember the limited time hiring teams will spend on your CV during initial scans).
• Don't use any fancy fonts and keep it to size 11 or 12 (I have seen 8!) and keep the layout and formatting consistent throughout.
• Keep it black and white, don't add colour and no need for a picture, DOB or your address (city is fine).
• Make sure you have correct contact details on the top - phone number and email (surprising how often one of these is missing or wrong) and add a link to your public profile on LinkedIn (more on this below).
• Make the intro short and snappy. Everyone is different but I like to see the following:

1. Professional Summary - I have mixed feelings on this section as it often is too ambiguous and fluffy to make a real impact and most hiring teams will jump to the good stuff below. Limit it to one or two paragraphs and focus on the standouts - years of experience etc.
2. Experience and results summary - A summary table with the company names, job titles and dates keeps things clear up front and provides a good snapshot of your career timeline.
3. Qualifications and education. Keep the core qualifications up top but, whilst not diminishing the value of additional courses, certifications and IT/tech skills, these can be put towards the end of the CV.

• Now your experience - Keep the same format throughout and in chronological order:

1. Date, Company, Role Title (make sure the dates are right - amazing how many CV dates don’t correlate).
2. Role summary - Keep it tight and try and summarise your role in one or two sentences.
3. Achievements (the most important bit) - Don’t just cut and paste from your job description and responsibilities, say what you actually did in each role (with specific examples and outcomes). This is the part where you can really showcase what you did - what categories you worked on, what savings you made, how many people you managed, awards, wins and stand out projects etc.
4. If you have had various titles with one company then make sure you list the roles and dates (hiring teams love to see how you have progressed). Plus, if you have had contract roles then make this clear next to each role or it might look like you have jumped around a bit which can raise unnecessary red flags.

• You might list a few interests at the end - this can be a great conversation point or ice breaker in the interview.
• On the last page you can list your referees (remember to check with them first) or just put ‘Referees on Request’.
• Make sure you get someone to review your finished work (really important). You will have spent a lot of time on your CV so there is nothing worse than spelling and grammatical errors (we see a lot), especially as most procurement and supply chain roles will require good attention to detail and written skills.
• Once updated you will have a solid base to work from. Some candidates may have two or three CVs which are adapted for different roles. Elements of a good CV can also be taken across to your LinkedIn profile too, but make sure they match and are aligned.
• Cover Letters - Really not needed unless requested.
• LinkedIn is arguably becoming more important than CVs. Many roles will let you apply using your LinkedIn profile and recruiters/hiring teams search the platform for standout candidates everyday. Creating a good LinkedIn profile is a topic in itself but, at a minimum, make sure it is aligned to the key information in your CV as recruiters/hiring teams will use both.
• The search engines that are used to find stand out candidates from the millions of people on LinkedIn will match key skills/qualifications etc against job descriptions so make sure you have these on your profile, even if you aren’t actively looking for a role in the market.

There is no one size fits all approach here so I would love to hear some of your thoughts or tips on great CVs that you have seen.

Also, if you want to access some example CVs or a quick free CV review then please get in touch!