In today’s job market, a good CV can be the key to a successful application. While first impressions and the ability to ‘gel’ with the company are important, people can no longer rely on this without the support of a tactical CV to unlock the door. The most impactful CVs are those that can balance a clean and concise layout with quantifiable results and focused experience to form a personal portfolio.
But how is that done, and how do our recruitment consultants suggest you can tailor your CV to turn heads?
An interest-capturing summary can be critical in establishing your professional identity. This should include focused skills that align with the job description, using industry-specific terminology, and active language such as verbs to create a dynamic description of your skills and contributions.
The best way to ensure that your CV is professional and focused is through simple formatting and clear sectioning. A ‘busy’ CV makes it harder for the candidate’s best qualities to come through. Further, spelling mistakes or typos suggest a lack of attention to detail and may decrease the credibility of your CV.
“I like to see consistent formatting. The same size font and style throughout makes this clean and easy to read. Sometimes CVs can look very ‘busy’ and you almost don’t know where to start reading.”
One of the easiest ways to showcase contributions to previous positions is to quantify them into comprehensible statistics, e.g. ‘Raised sales by 30%’. The numbers stand out on the page more clearly than ‘Raised sales significantly during my time’ and give clear evidence of the impact that you could potentially have on your next position. These results should, however, be relevant and impressive to have full impact.
When listing experience and career development, most candidates place the positions that they feel are most relevant at the top of the page, however this can lead to a confusing and incomprehensible CV. Listing experience and education reverse-chronologically allows for a clear snapshot of your journey, and progression so far.
“I like to see the CV in a reverse chronological order – so their most up to date experiences at the top of their career/ jobs and then read down to their earlier roles.”
