7 easy ways to improve your CV

There are hundreds of books, guides, articles and online courses on writing a CV. But you don’t want just a CV, you want a winning CV. How do you class a CV as a winning one?

Well, the only purpose of a CV is to get you an interview, so if it does that it is a winning CV!

In our book CV’s are quite simple really, you just need to be aware of what information to put in it, as well as what not to put in it, the format and the layout. Then a few pointers on how to make it a winning CV for that job you are applying for. This means knowing the right keywords and phrases to add to give you the best chance of getting an interview.

You should not be the judge of whether it is a good CV, since that is the prerogative of the employer (or their AI assistant).

If you are struggling to get any interviews, and are being rejected at the first hurdle, it could be that your CV needs refreshing and updating, or it could be that you are applying for the wrong jobs. Either way, each time you apply for a job, your CV should be adjusted and updated to match the requirements of the role: a generic CV no longer cuts it.

So, how do you write a winning CV? Read on…

Seven easy ways to improve your CV

Here is a quick and easy way to refresh your CV and turn it into a winning one!

·         Banish the buzzwords

·         Check your grammar

·         Contact details

·         Your Employer

·         Keep it simple

·         Add keywords

·         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 now 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 see 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 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, an employer won’t know what all of them do! If you can tell them 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 they 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 the appropriate keywords, but don’t overdo it.

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…