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Here at The Candidate, we collectively see hundreds of CV’s a week, and one thing we always notice is how creative they can be. Candidates are increasingly thinking of new ways to spice up their CV's in order to stand out from the crowd. This can include a cute selfie with their dog or creating slick graphs showing their skills and achievements. However, there are some essentials that can be found on every good CV – here’s how to get the information across whilst still keeping it eye-catching!
Follow this helpful set of guidelines to format your CV and increase your chances of securing that all important interview:
- Personal information - Name, address, contact details, notice period and salary expectation.
- Personal Profile - This should be a paragraph based on your softer skills. It should always be targeted to the role you are applying for. This is a great chance to get across your personality whilst also setting out your experience and career goals in brief.
- Career history and skills- Your career should always be in chronological order starting with your most recent role. DO NOT copy and paste your job specification as your current role - this is very easily picked up (as most are generic), just use it as a guide. It can help to use the STAR method in this section! And again, tailoring it to the job you’re applying for can be useful – e.g. if you’re applying for a manager position, really highlight any experience you’ve had in leading a team or project.
- Technical skills - Ensure that you highlight systems, projects, or languages if these are relevant to any role that you have been in. Niche and in-demand skills are something employers always look for!
- Ensure that you are tangible. Sometimes numbers do speak louder than words! Give percentages, figures, and timelines in order to help the employer visualise your success - especially if they are clear and concise enough to encapsulate your successes in a quick glace. Hopefully it will hook the readers attention!
- Education - again in chronological order, starting with any relevant professional qualifications - i.e. CIM. Highlight your dissertation if relevant to the role - although this tends to be more prevalent for graduates. You are not required to list every grade for A levels and GCSEs - simply the number of grades A-C.
- Interests? Yes - they should be on there; this sets you out from the crowd or when there is a shortlist scenario. Try and avoid listing generic hobbies such as socialising with friends, playing football, going to the cinema (too basic!). Instead, think outside of the box and tell them where you like going travelling, what team you support, or what the last film you watched was. Unique interests always stand out - sword swallowing, log fluming, rock climbing etc, so don’t be afraid to really show off your personality! (However, don’t make up a list of crazy hobbies for the sake of it - stick to the truth and own it!).
- Get someone to proofread your CV. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can spot small mistakes like grammar or spelling, or even be a good barometer for first impressions.
- Quality over quantity! One of the biggest things that can put off a reader is if your CV is too cramped. The important information tends to get lost in a densely packed page. Try to keep your CV contained to 2/3 pages – and work on refining the important details!
- Does it flow?! Our recruiters always say how a well organised CV makes understanding a candidates skill set and requirements so much easier. Having the information in a logical and clear order is really important. Feel free to tailor this to your own CV (and to get creative with colours, graphics, fonts etc if that’s the sector you work in!), but a sensible order that we see a lot usually goes:
- Personal Information
- Profile (targeted to the job you’re applying for)
- Career History including Technical Skills
- Qualifications/Education
- Interests and Hobbies
Finally nailed your CV and ready to apply for that dream job? Get in touch with us today or submit your CV online to be considered for any roles we think you’d thrive in! It’s that easy!
A big thankyou to our Recruitment Resourcer Heather Murray for her help with this article!
