Candidates are increasingly thinking of new ways of formulating CV's in order to "stand out from the crowd." However pushing creativity too far can be disastrous and they end up making a meal out of what should be a well-documented career path. This set of guidelines will help you format your CV, increasing your chances of securing that all important interview:
- Personal information - Name, address, 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.
- Key achievements- There should be five or six maximum. These again should highlight your achievements within your roles to date. In order to ensure that you don't ramble and keep your achievement succinct, use the STAR Format.
- a. Situation- this should be two lines outlining the project
b. Task- what was your role
c. Action- what three things did you do in order to achieve your goal a
d. Result - ensure that you are tangible- give %, figures and timelines in order to help the employer visualise your success - Career history & skills- Your career should always be in chronological order starting with your most recent role. DO NOT - copy and paste your job specification in your current role - this is very easily picked up (as most are generic) - use it as a guide. Technical skills - Ensure that you highlight, systems, projects or languages if these are relevant to any role that you have been in
- 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 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 saying socialising with friends, playing football, going to the cinema - tell them where you like going, what team you support or what the last film you watched was. Interesting interests - always stand out - i.e. - sword swallowing, log fluming, rock climbing. However, do not lie.
This two-dimensional document is to ensure you get over that first hurdle so it is vital that you take the time to think through how you can portray yourself in the best light.
For any further career and cv advice please don't hesitate to contact any of The Candidate recruitment team on.
