Tips for CV Success!

Hi, Job Hunters!

Well, I’m assuming you’re a job hunter, since you’ve wound up on a blog post about CV enhancement, but I could be wrong. In any case, whoever you are and however you got here, I hope you’ll stick around!

Being that time of year - and by “that” time of year I mean the time when students are graduating from uni, leaving college or generally just moving onto the next stage of their lives - I thought it might be useful to share what I have found to be some useful hints and tips on how to structure, enhance and generally make the best of your CV.

It can be hard to know what direction to take when it comes to your CV, what with the hoards of conflicting advice from university lecturers, careers departments, recruiters and potential employers. While some tell you to stick to only one side of A4, others stress the importance of including all relevant experience. While some instruct to disregard A Level and GCSE grades in favour of higher education results, others take a “the more the merrier” point of view. All of this results in CVs being added to the long list of “Must-do(-but-don’t-really-know-how-so-will-probably-just-ignore)” tasks, and who can blame you?!

However, the fact of the matter is that having an updated and accurate CV to hand is essential, especially when going through the job hunt or uni application process. I’ve learnt first-hand that employment opportunities can literally crop up at the drop of a hat, so it’s great practice to have a current resume ready and waiting, just in case.

So, where to begin? It can be hard even knowing where to start, but – like an enormous (if slightly boring) cake – it’s not going to eat itself, and the first few bites make all the difference! On that note, I think a great place to start would be with structure…

The great news is that the days of the all-too-common white Word document with black “Times New Roman” centralised font is well and truly over; CVs can now take any and every form imaginable. In fact, some individuals opt for interactive CVs such as PowerPoints and Prezi clips. While I haven’t personally gone this far, I chose to structure my CV using a ready-made template on Word which allows you to re-design the colour, fonts, etc. to suit your personality (mine’s pink, of course, à la Elle Woods!). Using this template has allowed me to fit more on my CV using less space, as well as creating a much more visually appealing document that surely stands out against the mundane, monochrome alternatives, which is key in getting noticed!

Next comes content and, as alluded to, it can be hard to know exactly what needs to go on your CV and what can be omitted. Personally, I take the view that if you’ve worked hard to achieve something, it should be on your CV, especially if it’s relevant to your chosen career path. My CV takes up three sides of A4, and the only person who’s ever told me to cut it down was a Careers Advisor from uni. I did listen, technically, since I made each section more concise and less “waffle-y” (I am the Queen of Waffle, can’t you tell?). Yet my CV remains longer than the average length and I’ve never received criticism for it from interviewers, in fact, I’ve often been congratulated on my chock-a-block resume! The only advice I can really give, therefore, is thus: if it’s relevant to the job you’re applying for or you are particularly proud of it, put it on there! In time, you’ll be able to scrub your student job as a waitress or till operator right off to make way for all your fabulous experience!

Finally comes the slightly more controversial matter of what details to include. Many companies nowadays are striving to employ a more diverse workforce which is undeniably fantastic (if not long overdue), but this doesn’t mean that certain forms of discrimination no longer take place. Some claim to have been discriminated against based on their age or postcode, leading many to leave these details completely off their CV. Others have gone so far as to remove their name from their CV in order to avoid prejudice based on gender or nationality. I can neither confirm nor deny that the above is happening but in order to avoid any possibility of prejudice I have simply chosen to include my name, phone number, email address and link to my LinkedIn page on my CV. Should an employer want to know anything more about me, they’ll have to get in touch to find out and therefore – inadvertently – express an interest in my application. Should they choose to discriminate against me based on my age, gender or location, then I wouldn’t want to work for that company anyway!

All in all, as long as your CV is an accurate and up to date representation of yourself with some personality thrown in, you can't go far wrong! Be honest, concise and polite, and your CV is sure to impress. 

I hope these hints and tips have come in handy and, if you are part-way through the gruelling job hunt process, I wish you every bit of luck and success. If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help and will gladly get back to you via the comments below!

Happy Hunting!

E x