CV Tips
Your CV may need a rework, particularly if you are applying for jobs outside of your niche market - or you may want to highlight your transferable skills into a new sector. The tips below are for Recruitment Consultants, especially the emphasis on WHAT you have accomplished. We want to see the numbers! These are your achievements. Shout about them!If you are short on time, here's all our tips in one handy video
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Who, What, Where, When, Why? - there's a reason you learnt this at school. Highlighting your achievements in a CV is easier if you begin by using these 5 tried and tested starters.If you brain dump all your achievements into a rough format it becomes easier to edit and rework.
- Who did you work for?
- What did you achieve, sell, develop, grow, market, build?
- Where did you do this (internal, external, regional, branch, market sector, temp or perm)?
- When did you do this? (accurate dates)
- Why were you employed in this role (to solve a problem, to develop business, to start a cold patch, to build a new team)?
- Why did you leave? (progression, development, personal growth, relocation)?
Get your important achievements noted
- List hard facts for every position listed on your CV, for example:
- Your billings per month
- What desk/market sector you cover
- Your average fee/margin/GP (whichever is used to measure)
- Your performance against target
- Any awards received
- How many people you managed
- Highlight your achievements, for example:
- The percentage increase in business you have achieved
- The growth of your team
- Major client wins
- Training delivered
- Describe actions: achieved, exceeded, completed, improved, succeeded, sold, won, expanded, resolved.... A simple google search around "action verbs for CVs will help you describe what you actually DID in each role
- Briefly list your duties and responsibilities, highlighting your strengths, for example
- Client meetings
- Sourcing candidates using unique techniques specific to your sector
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Tailor your CV specifically to each separate position that you apply for, using the advertisement, job specification and person specification as a guide if these are available. Often they are not, so concentrate on your achievements and listen to your recruitment consultant who will have extra information for you.
- If you have no recent experience in the job you are applying for, highlight WHICH of your current skills will transfer to this new role, and HOW they will do so.
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Write a short personal statement that is relevant to the job you are applying for. It should describe your experience and your top skills and strengths, alongside your aspirations for your next move.
- It can help if you include a short sentence about the employer and the markets they specialise in.
Housekeeping
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Remember to include details of your education and any training courses you have completed - remove the dates of these.
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Use a spelling and grammar check making sure you are using the UK version.
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Try not to leave any gaps in your work history or education history.
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Speak to your recruitment consultant about the best ways to record reasons for leaving, career breaks, maternity and paternity leaves.
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Make sure the CV you send for applications matches your LinkedIn profile.
- Remember to include your up to date phone number. Ideal if it also has voicemail switched on. This, above all, is the most important single feature on a CV!