How to write a winning CV
Do I still need a CV?
With everything being on-line nowadays and the force and reach of social and professional networks you would be forgiven for thinking that the days of the humble CV are numbered.
Although I wouldn’t shed a tear just yet! Whilst the younger generation (under 30) may be more used to online applications than us old folks, the majority of our clients (all, in fact) still expect to receive the candidates’ CV.
So, is it the end for the CV?
Articles I have seen recently suggest that yes, it is the end since all your details are on LinkedIn (true if you have completed a full profile, but it is not an application for a job, rather business networking) or on your social media (partly true, plus pictures of your cat), or you can add your details to the online application form (true, but not all companies use this method). Also, how do companies hold your information for any future opportunities without a CV?
Applying for roles
You could be asked to apply online via an AI powered, application system that asks specific questions about you, your work history and your experience in key, job related areas. This will be looking for key words and phrases, relevant to the role. Some applications also ask you to upload examples of your work and/or your CV. What information though is filtered down to the hiring manager if they do not have a CV to look at?
So, what is a CV for?
The purpose of a CV is to sell you and is a marketing tool; its only purpose is to get you an interview.
Preparing a winning CV
You will need an up to date CV. Download our Ultimate Guide to Your CV
Before preparing your CV take a moment to consider what it is for and who will read it. Most likely it will probably be read by HR professionals, employers who are hiring, an AI tool and recruitment companies.
You should consider the following when preparing your CV:
• What it should include
• The format
• What HR Professionals/Hiring Managers are looking for
• Who is going to read it
What It Should Include:
Bear in mind that there is no perfect CV; ask a hundred hiring managers and you will get a hundred preferences, since all prospective employers look for different information. However, it should contain the following as a minimum:
Your Personal Details:
Such as name, address, contact telephone and e-mail details, qualifications, and general availability.
Avoid non essential information such as height, weight, health, ages of children, religion etc.
Most individuals do not put their salary details or expectations on their CV but these should be included, if asked for, on a covering letter when you apply for the position.
You do not have to put your age or date of birth on a CV now and it is illegal for the employer (or their agent) to ask you for this information.
A Short Profile/Summary:
This is where you can put down your qualities, skills and motivation etc.
Your Employment Details:
This should include your current employer and your current job function, showing the length of time that you have been at the company.
You should also list of all your previous employers, your functions within these companies and length of service, right back to when you started work.
It is not a good idea to leave any gaps. If you are out of work, ensure that you update your CV with the date you ended your employment.
For each employer, particularly your most recent employers, you should include a brief description of your duties, your areas of responsibility and also what you feel you have achieved during the position, that will be relevant for a future employer.
It is also very useful to indicate the nature of business of your employer in terms of size, turnover, products and services.
Wherever possible, you should also include information that is relevant to the position that you are applying for; for example, you may currently work for a competitor but this may not be immediately clear on your CV.
The Format
The format for your CV should be simple and it should be easy to read, bearing in mind that the standard of your presentation will give prospective employers an idea of your suitability as an applicant.
Also bear in mind that many firms will no longer print your CV off and it will be read on screen; it may also be loaded onto their database electronically.
You should try to keep your CV to 2 or 3 pages, keeping the layout and design simple. As well as making your CV readable it helps those who copy and scan CV's onto their systems.
For this reason, you should use small blocks of text with standard typefaces making the headings clear and consistent. It also helps to put your name on each page.
Page one should contain your personal details and a short profile. Your contact details should be at the top of page one. Pages two and three are for your employment details.
Put your interests, hobbies and details of any voluntary work that you do on the bottom of the last page.
The employment details on most CV's are in reverse chronological order with the most recent position detailed first.
You should reduce the amount of detail for each role as you go back in time, remembering to outline the job title, responsibilities, dates and achievements for each position you have held.
Tell the truth!
You should always be truthful on your CV since you do not know the background of the individual who may be reading it and it is very easy to get caught out. Also don't make sweeping statements about yourself - it is up to the interviewer to decide if you are brilliant not you!
Keep it unique
However, when you prepare your CV remember that it is unique to you, and you should therefore be comfortable with it.
Up to date
You should also keep it up to date as employers do not like to meet candidates who they think are in work but in fact left their 'current employer' six months ago and forgot to change it on their CV; what else might they be hiding?
One useful tip is that if you e-mail your CV to an organisation, please do not call it cv.doc as everyone else does! Call it "Steve Smith CV" for example so that the company can find it again when it files it on their electronic system.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that it is very unlikely that your covering email will be saved or printed – so make sure that your contact details and email address are on your CV!
Bespoke or Not Bespoke?
There is a good choice of candidates for many roles, particularly where the employer cannot find or attract a ‘ready made’ candidate from a competitor, or doesn’t want one.
The ‘recruiter’ could be an AI powered process with no human involvement until the interview stage
If this is the case, how do you make yourself and your application stand out? Particularly as research suggests that candidates' CV's have just ten seconds to impress the recruiter, with more than 70% of CVs being discarded before they have read to the end of page one!
Firstly, it is not about being loud, brash, aggressive or colourful – you do after all want to be remembered for your skills and experience rather than the images on your CV!
It is more about making your application stand out and presenting the right information to ensure that the employer is aware of your skills relevant to his vacancy.
Keywords
The prospective employer will be looking for key information on your CV to help them judge your suitability to go to the next stage.
This may include the fact that you work for a competitor, that you have a knowledge and understanding of their particular industry, that you may deal with the same customer base, that the companies that you have worked for are of a similar size and nature, and that you have had experience of working in the same function at the same level that they require.
Automated systems/databases read and store CV’s, not covering letters, and when asked to find key words and phrases they won’t find what is not there.
Similarly, if your CV is read by a person, they are probably looking for keywords, phrases, companies and sectors; again, if it is not there they can’t read it!
Customise Your CV
The answer? Rewrite your CV for every job you apply for including information that is relevant to the role and the employer.
How long does it take to do this? Minutes.
Explain on your CV what the companies did that you worked for, the sectors they were in, who their customers were and what part you played in the success of the company.
If they ask for candidates with experience of the AMP cycle for example, and you have this, make sure the employer knows rather than assuming that they know.
Simple? Certainly. A bit of work on your part? Certainly. Effective? Certainly.
Seven easy ways to improve your CV
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Banish the buzzwords
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Check your grammar
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Contact details
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Your Employer
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Keep it simple
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Add keywords
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Help the Hiring Manager
We get to see hundreds of CV’s and Profiles of candidates and whilst many are ‘good’ in that we can at least see and understand what they do, many are pretty poor, and most could do with being made fit for purpose!
You don’t want the first impression that your CV makes to be its last, so it’s worth a little effort to make sure it is not discarded too easily or remembered for the wrong reason.
Don’t forget that the only reason for your CV is to get you an interview…
It is surprisingly easy to update and improve your CV in seven easy steps:
One: Banish the buzzwords
Enthusiastic, focused, passionate, dynamic, ambitious, successful, natural leader…you may think that you are being original by using these words to describe yourself but, believe me, when everyone includes these words on their CV they are no longer stand out traits.
Two: Check your grammar
In our connected, automated world it is easy to rely on your computer to spell-check and grammar check your CV. Don’t.
Make sure you check it and get someone else to check it also. Words like form, manger, roll and fro are proper words but they are not the same as from, manager, role and for! If left in your CV they make you look at best lazy and at worst, very poor at writing.
Three: Put your contact details at the top of page one
Most CVs are read on a screen rather than printed and there is nothing worse than hunting around for your contact details; also, if it is being read by software in order to place it on a database then if it can’t ‘read’ it, your details won’t appear on their system.
Amazingly, at least 5% of the CV’s we receive have no contact details on them whatsoever, which makes it very hard to contact you: if we can be bothered, we could try and find your original email with them on.
So please make sure the details of who you are and how to contact you are prominently displayed, preferably at the top of the first page.
Four: Tell them what your employer does
There are over one million companies in the UK and, believe it or not, we don’t know what all of them do! If you can tell us what your employer does, what sector it is in and how big it is that would be enormously helpful, especially where the client wants someone from the same, or a similar, sector.
Five: Keep it simple - avoid messy layouts
Boxes, headings, side bars, graphics and different fonts and sizes may look good, but they are hard to read and analyse: I am sure you would rather we focused on your experience instead of marvelling at your splendid document.
Granted, if you are an Architect, Interior Designer or Artist, we’ll let you off!
Six: Add keywords
AI recruitment systems and ATS (applicant tracking systems) all trawl CV’s for keywords relevant to the job concerned.
So, in order to get through the initial stages, you need to ensure your CV is full of appropriate keywords.
What is a keyword you might ask? Anything that is crucial to the job!
Examples might include manufacturing, business development, acquisitions, growth and any sector or job specific things like software packages, accounting systems etc. If the job asks for it and you have done it, then tell them!
Seven: Help the Hiring Manager
What they want to see is who you are, who you work for, what role you do and what experience you have in the sector and role they are recruiting for.
Many CV searches are electronic and look for keywords – company names, sectors, job titles, qualifications, industry keywords and so on. If they are not on your CV, the search cannot find you…
CV Checklist
• Think about your skills, achievements, qualifications and experiences
• Never falsify your employment history or qualifications - many companies check and you will be found out
• Do not overstate your hobbies and interest to make them more interesting - the reader may well be an expert in that field
• Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct - ask someone to check it for you
• Make sure your contact details can be easily found
• Do not leave any gaps in your employment dates
• Never include graphs, cartoons, photographs, certificates or gimmicks
• Do not put the reason you left a job on the CV - explain it at the interview
• Try to avoid technical and sector jargon
• Put your salary details onto your covering letter/email
• Try to tailor your CV to each application where possible so that it does not look like you have sent it to everyone
• Do not put 'Curriculum Vitae' at the top of page one - put your name and contact details instead
• Do not include references or certificates
What HR Professionals/Employers Say They Prefer:
• CV to be emailed
• Two page format
• Short profile/summary at the beginning
• Reasons for leaving included
• Salary details on the covering letter
• Email and contact details
• Statement about your location
What they don’t like:
• Photos!
• Professionally written CV’s
• Different fonts
• Poor grammar and presentation
• Use of buzz words and jargon
• Over the top selling of yourself
• Personal statements
Download our Ultimate Guide to Your CV
