Writing A Killer CV

Empathise

Put yourself in a recruitment agent's shoes, every day you receive dozens of CVs which vary greatly in style & quality and it's your job to work through them. A recruitment agent will quickly scan your CV and unless it's well move on to the next one.

Faced with a pile of CVs a recruiter hasn't got the patience to read through every single one. There isn't any room for anything but a perfectly presented, a commanding document that shows you in the best possible light for the position.

Your CV is a sales document. It sells based on how well it can reflect your uniqueness & suitability for the given role.

James Innes, Managing Director of the CV Centre and author of The CV Book, suggests his top five tips when writing your killer CV.

Maximise readability

It is essential for your CV to be easy for the reader to scan quickly and effectively. You need to separate different sections and insert clear section headings.

Avoid long paragraphs; use bullet pointing to break up text into more manageable ‘bite-size' chunks. It should be eye-catching and uncluttered.

Include a Professional Profile and Objective

These sections should summarise and emphasise your key attributes and your intended future career path. Your words must flow seamlessly - avoiding cliché and superfluous hyperbole.

They should each only be a few lines in length but they must spark the reader's interest. If you can't successfully ‘pitch' yourself in under ten lines then you risk losing the reader's attention.

Include achievements where possible

If you can include an Achievements section then it can make an instant and dramatic difference to the power of your CV, enabling you to distinguish yourself from other candidates. This is no time for false modesty.

This is a time to show what you have achieved - and to imply that you will be capable of achieving similar results in the future.

Keep your CV concise and to-the-point

Your CV should be informative - but also concise. In general, two A4 pages is a maximum. Too many CVs are quite simply too long. Only include information which will actually help to sell you.

Recruiters don't want to waste time reading details irrelevant to your ability to fulfil the job role.

Target/Tailor your CV

If possible, tailor your CV according to the specific vacancy for which you are applying. Whilst many people use a general CV designed to suit any position they are applying for, greater success can always be achieved by tailoring your CV according to the needs of the specific role to which you are applying.

• After your interview your CV is still working hard acting as a refresher for your skills whenever the agent reads through it - refreshing his/her mind as to the impression you made and skill set.
• Even if you're shortlisted to one of 5 you don't want to be the next CV to be eliminated.

These points encapsulate the most important principles when constructing your CV. The real purpose of your CV is not to get a job - it's to get an interview.