Writing a CV is quite straightforward, but writing a CV that will get you an interview is a different story entirely. It has to stay relevant and supply all the right skills and qualifications, and also needs to be error free and presentable. But you could tick all the boxes above and still fail to impress. Why?
To help you understand where you might be going wrong in your quest to write the perfect CV, here are 3 different types of CV writers. Which one are you?
The gatherer
Are you someone that gathers and hoards every piece of information you can and adds it to your CV? If this sounds a bit like you then we can officially class you as ‘The Gatherer’.
This type of CV writer is probably the most common, and it best describes someone who just keeps adding and adding small pieces of information to their CV over the years until it gets to 3-4 pages.
The problem with this is that your CV won’t focus upon a specific employer or role and take notice of their needs. The CV becomes a list of everything that’s ever been achieved, and will make it difficult for any employer to pick out all the best or relevant bits.
An employer is not interested in every single thing you’ve ever done, and your school grades from 20 years ago are not likely to be of relevance any more. The same can be said for anything which is not relevant to the employer, and although you don’t want to create any employment gaps you should seriously consider how much expansion each role needs.
A mistake that many job seekers make is to read the job title of an advert, presume that they will be a good fit, and fire off their CV without even reading the specification in full. Although it’s fair to assume that you will be somewhat qualified for most jobs in your niche, the CV you have written may still not reflect all the needs for every single vacancy you apply to. ~ Andrew Fennell
The unbalanced
This describes someone who decides to put a lot of time and effort into their initial CV, but then can’t be bothered to continue that trend and now simply adds each new role to the bottom.
This creates a very unbalanced CV and could confuse an employer. Why have you gone into great detail on your early career to now simply just state a job title and a few tasks? Your CV needs be comprehensive and relevant throughout, and not just at the start of your career when you had the motivation to write a great CV.
If you have taken on a new role since the last CV update, include a section reflecting the responsibilities of the role and your achievements to date. If you are still in the same role, add in some new bullet points to reflect recent activities. You can use your performance appraisal and CPD records to jog your memory. ~ Jobs.ac.uk
The re-creator
Those that look to recreate their CV each time they apply should give themselves a big pat on the back. This is exactly what every job seeker should do before they apply, and take extra consideration of the company’s requirements.
Tailoring a CV to each role is the best way to ensure you get noticed and recognised for the right skills, qualifications and experience. Even if this means writing a brand new CV each time you’re in the job market, and also for each employer.
It can be easy to assume that just the one CV will be needed to apply to different companies. But even if the roles have a similar job title, each company has their own different view on what skills and experience are most important. The individual company’s culture also has a huge bearing and this needs to be researched before you begin to write your CV.
Using keywords from the job advert in your CV will make it easier for the hiring manager to see you are the right person for the job. It’s essentially a clever way of writing a CV which is on the same page as the employer. Don’t make it harder for the hiring manager to realise that you have the right skills by using different words or phrases. ~ CV Template Master
Reflect their priorities rather than what you think are most important. For instance, if business development is a key requirement, then put your experience of this at the top of your list of your skills, even if this is a relatively small part of what you currently do. ~ Corrine Mills