Make Your CV Stand Out
In the current climate finding a job is extremely difficult even with the right qualifications, training and experience. If you want to stand out from the many applicants applying for that dream position (in February 2011, Google received on average 12 applicants per job*) the most important thing you can do is have a CV which sets you apart from the crowd.
Spelling and Grammar
This must be your priority when creating your CV. If you have just one spelling or grammar mistake the person tasked with looking through these CV’s may doubt your ability regarding the job in question. Making silly errors on your own CV could mean you don’t make it to the next stage of the recruitment process. Having worked with a lot of CV’s over the last few months, I have come across an enormous amount of silly spelling and grammar errors, it doesn’t take 5 minutes to spell check a document or get someone else to double check it for you.
Length and Formatting
The general rule for the length of a CV is 2 pages. I have seen CV’s as long as 15 pages, this is just far too many, an employer doesn’t want to know your life story, they want to know you can do the job. With an employer spending an average of 8 seconds per CV this means you need to say as little as possible but also get across that you have the relevant experience they are looking for. The format of the CV isn’t necessarily an important factor, but it must be clear, concise and above all readable. Use bullet points instead of long drawn out sentences and make sure the size and fonts all match.
What to Include
Some key headings for a CV might be:
- Qualifications (a degree or professional qualification if you have one, remember to include the institution and date)
- Professional Experience (your work history in date order, most current first – remember to include the company name, your job title and the dates of your employment)
- Additional Training
- Languages
- Publications
- Professional Memberships
- Executive Summary
If you interested in getting your CV to look more professional and formatted in a way that can improve your chances for that dream job, then why not use a virtual assistant and contact me today to find out more about this service I offer.
*taken from a Mail Online article.
