Resume and Interview Tips
Essentially the CV is your own personal advert and, if written correctly, it will become the most important tool in your armor in your quest to land the ideal job. It is essential to remember that your application may be just one of hundreds from candidates with similar skills and experience and therefore you should always look to differentiate yourself and write with the employer in mind.
'Curriculum Vitae' translates literally as 'the story of your life' but that doesn't mean that your potential employer is looking for an autobiography! Instead, what they want to see is a concise summary of your skills, education and work experience in order to assess whether you are suitable for the job. Employers use the CV as a means to shortlist people for interview and what you leave in our out will determine its impact on the reader and the perception that they will have of you.
The best CV's contain only objective facts that set you aside from the pack and do not waste valuable space with excessive detail about the skills/experience that most candidates have. You need to think about how you are trying to sell yourself and the overall message you are trying to get across - don't lose sight of this.
Are you a highly skilled candidate with expertise in a niche area? Are you a strategic thinker with the ability to generate innovative solutions to problems? Are you an expert people person with the capability to lead any team? Decide which areas to highlight in order to position yourself for success and ask yourself "so what?" with every statement you make. If it wont compel an employer to invite you for interview then is it worth keeping in?
Some general CV tips to remember:
- For the best chance of success your CV has to be tailored to the job
- The following layout is the norm: personal, education, skills, work history
- Prioritise information so the most important details catch the attention first
- A strong CV should be no more than two pages long and never more than three
- Ensure that the content is clear, concise and relevant - using bullet points can dramatically reduce word wastage
- Your CV needs to be easy to read so head the different sections in bold type to help the reader find specific information quickly
- When describing your career to date, make sure you outline exactly what you did in your role and how that helped the business
- Try not to leave gaps in your career history, they will be noticed! Make sure you can explain why you weren't in work during your interview
- Don't skimp on the time you spend writing your CV - it is a false economy and you will regret it in the long run
- Check carefully for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and ask an 'independent' party to review the whole document before sending out.
Once you have finished you need ask yourself whether it is an honest and well-written document that will grab attention and compel the reader to contact you. If it isn't then you should think about starting from scratch!
Huxley Associates' consultants are experts at writing CV's and can provide you with guidance to help ensure that yours will stand out from the crowd and get you through the door for that all important interview.
