There are two main benefits of creating a CV – the first and most obvious is that it is a selling tool, the marketing tool which will often be the first way that a Hiring Manager or HR person will become aware of you. A well sculptured CV will not get you a job, but it might get you to the next stage of the process – often an interview. And that is its sole purpose.
The other great reason for investing time on a CV is that by its very creation, you are forced into starting to think about your career, about your achievements, any career moves you have made and the way you can express the progression you have made, in logical steps. It’s great preparation for any interview!
Start by brain dumping and then editing down to a short, compelling story. If you are familiar and comfortable with tools such as mindmapping, use these. Don’t however use them in the final CV.
If you’re responding to a specific job advert, take a lead from the language in the job description or the advert and focus on the most important areas mentioned. If you have great experience that does not seem relevant to a particular role, don’t be afraid to omit it. You can create a “library” of stories you can use on another occasion. Don’t be afraid to have a number of versions of your CV – in fact you really should tailor it each time for the specific role.
It needs to be compelling – short, pithy, realistic (oh, and true!) and help you stand out from the crowd. Anyone reviewing your CV will very likely have many others to review and yours needs to catch the eye.
The style, layout and content are all important. They all give immediate evidence of your written communication skills, which will likely be a required and important competence in the role you are competing for. Any errors – typos, spelling or bad grammar, give an immediate impression of a lack of an eye for detail.
It must be easy for a reader to identify your current role, responsibilities, the previous experience you have had, and how to easily get hold of you. It must only carry acronyms and jargon, if you explain their meaning. Keep them to a minimum.
It is not necessary include the contact details of your referees. These can be supplied later, once interest has been established and your permission to contact them has been sought. Only supply the information required at this stage.
In the majority of cases, two pages of A4 would be sufficient to cover the key points you need to in a CV. But it is a matter of judgement and if you have relevant and interesting facts which take you over that, it needn’t matter. Use a plain simple font – Arial 10 for example.
So go for it, and don’t be afraid to change it as your job search develops – you might find better and better ways to express what you’ve done and what you offer.
Good luck!
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