CV DO’s and DONT’s
As we all know, when looking for a job, the first thing you must do is update your CV. Everyone wants to stand out from the crowd and have the best CV, so hopefully, using our tips, you can do just that!
- BE CAUTIOUS OF YOUR FILE NAME!
Now it’s so easy when you’re in a rush to just throw your file under any name to get the job done, but remember, once that has been sent, the CV File name should tell people who you are and what the file contains, E.g., “Jane Doe CV” is going to be much more recognisable than “CV2022”. This may sound like a minor, irrelevant detail, but this will make a huge difference to the person reading it. Make things easier for your potential employer by having your full name on everything you want them to read! Not only that, but if your employer can see that you can’t put the time in to name a file correctly, this may hint to them that you are lazy and inconsistent within your work. It takes seconds to name your files correctly, and this can leave a lasting impression.
- CONTACT DETAILS
You would be surprised at how many CV’s we receive a week that have either incorrect, or no details on them at all! It should be the bare minimum that you add your contact number and an email address. Otherwise, how do you expect to be contacted? Not only that but imagine how frustrating it would be as a hiring manager if you have an ideal candidate that you have no way of contacting?! This should be printed on the top of your CV in a clear font where it can be easily seen.
Top Tip: I tend to put my contact details within the footer of each page of my CV, this way, if your pages are separated for whatever reason, your details are always clearly shown.
In addition to this, adding your address or your postcode is always a good piece of information to have – when recruiting for a job in a certain area, it’s good to know that the candidate is in the correct catchment. I always think that showing you’re easily contactable speaks volumes about your reliability!
- HOW LONG SHOULD YOUR CV BE?
Let’s put this into perspective, a CV should be a summary of your experience within employment, education, and qualifications, not an autobiography! Recruiters and Hiring Managers are generally very busy people and spend a lot of their days reading through people’s CV’s – so give your CV good readability! If your CV is more than 2 pages long, to be honest, it’s easy to get bored! Unless you have been specifically requested to list, in great details, all your qualifications, you just need to keep an overview.
Try considering the following things:
- Do you have a portfolio? Can some of the information be bought to an interview which it is relevant for?
- Try tweaking the page layout – Can you rearrange the way in which you have displayed your information to maximise your space on a page?
- Do you have long, unnecessary words in your profile? Take these out – of course, some jobs may want to see an array of good grammar and words, but most just way to see the key strengths you have! Save the descript, complicated bits for your cover letter – that’s where you apply your skills and relevant qualifications to the job you are applying for!
And remember, keep the most significant information on the first page!
- WATCH OUT FOR SPELLING MISTAKES
This CV will be the first things your potential employer will learn about you, this will be the first impression they receive from you, which is why it’s so important to proofread! You want to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure you keep your chances high by running a spell check as you go! It can be easy to miss them once you’re finished.
- EMPLOYMENT GAPS
Consider any gaps you have in your employment. When working in recruitment, this is one of the first things we will notice, and this could be a huge red flag for us. It’s fine to have small gaps if you have an explanation for them but having large gaps between employment that are unaccounted for, doesn’t give us a great impression of your work ethic.
- HIGHLIGHTING ACHIEVEMENTS
With most of us being humble beings, it’s not always easy to highlight your strengths and achievements without seeming braggy, but this is a huge necessity on a CV! The whole idea of the document to begin with is to do exactly that, highlight your strengths and sell yourself!
A lot of people think you only must focus on just your paper qualifications, but this just isn’t the case! It’s great to have all the relevant information there, but as we said, you need to sell yourself. So, if you have stood out to another employer, for example, receiving a recognition award or getting employee of the month – highlight that! This shows your dedication and hard work within a team! Like the rest of your CV, keep your achievements easy to read – Bullet points are a great, easy way to get across your point and will draw the employers’ eyes straight down rather than fishing through a sea of words! Your highlights and achievement will be the main thing that sets you apart from the other candidates, no one else can do the same as you, so show off – this may be the key in getting shortlisted or that role!