Business
With high levels of unemployment, the number and range of applicants for jobs also increases. People who are both over and under-qualified for a role will throw their hat into the ring too because …. “they have nothing to lose”. So how do you make your CV grabs the recruiter’s attention? Here, career coach Michelle Lucas offers some top tips that she uses with her clients:
Remember – less is more, try to ensure your CV fits onto 2 pages. This will help you focus on what is really important about your experience and makes it easier for the recruiter to absorb what you have to offer. By the way – just reducing the text to size 8 font doesn’t count.
Always use a cover letter to explain why you think you would be great for the job – link the words in their advert to what you have to offer. The easier you make it for the recruiter to short list you the better.
Put the effort in to tailor every CV to every job application – generic CVs are fine as a starting point, but one size does not fit all.
Be focused in what you tell them. Don’t be lulled into thinking that the more you list about the jobs you have done the stronger your application will be. This only true if that experience is directly relevant for the application in hand – if it’s not it’s simply padding. Good recruiters are rarely fooled by this.
The same goes for listing the training you have undergone. You may be proud that you got a Distinction in your RSA exam when you left school, but years later when you are working as a team leader. it is not really relevant.
Give the recruiter an idea of the context in which you worked so that they can picture the level of complexity you worked in. This is usually best done in a few lines when describing the job you did. For example managing an event for a start-up company which has yet to establish its brand is a very different prospect to organising an event, for a household name with established suppliers.
Make sure your name and contact details are on every page – CV’s will often get photo-copied and pages can get separated, so ensure there’s no risk of someone loving what you’ve written but them having no idea who it is!
Finally – get your CV proof read by someone who is good at detail. Remember spell check won’t pick up on a typo that creates another (but wrong) word. Take the time to get it checked - there is no quicker way to irritate your recruiter than having a typo on the front page!
If you need help re-writing your CV, visit the website www.coachU4success.co.uk/resources and download Michelle’s template to get you off on the right track.
Tune in next month when Michelle will share ideas on how to increase the chances of getting your CV noticed.
For more information about Michelle Lucas and the coaching services she provides visit her website www.coachU4success.co.uk or call her on 07717 122950.
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