J U I C E R E C R U I T M E N T
How To Update Your CV
How To Update Your CV Your CV is your selling tool and first impression prospective employers and agencies will have of you, therefore it is vital to invest time in making it as good as possible and this includes modifying it to suit each application. The main objective of your CV is to get you to interview so it’s vitally important that it stands out from the crowd. 1. CV Layout Prospective employers look at hundreds of CVs, so a clear, concise CV which shows your skills and experience is going to be noticed a lot faster than an over-worded jumble. Make it look professional, adding exotic fonts might make it look pretty but this is a professional document and an insight into you as a professional so keep it organised, structured, disciplined and professional. Keep to a decent font size and do not vary font types or sizes. 2. Contact Details Name, address and contact details – Make sure these are clear and up to date, recruiters want to be able to get hold of you quickly so make it easy for them. 3. Person Profile This is a paragraph or two at the top of your CV which provides a summary of your skills relevant to the role you are being recruited for. Your profile needs to entice the reader to want to learn more so it needs to be snappy and to the point. Update this section for every role. Review the job description. What are they looking for? What can you state in your profile that supports your application and aligns with the requirements listed in the job description? 4. Education or Career Highlights Less experienced candidates might start with their education, particularly if this is strong. For those of you with lots of experience then start with a bullet point summary of your career highlights. Include success stories of projects managed.
5. Detailed Career History In reverse chronological order (most recent or current role first). Employers want facts and want to know what you do/did, who you manage (numbers), what is your budget responsibility, methodology used, types of project managed. You must include company name, job title, start and finish date. It is not enough to put in just the year, employers need to know months too – they like to see your career path and see if there are any gaps in your CV. Give brief explanations for periods of not working. It can also be helpful to give sound reasons for why you left a position. This is particularly true if you have moved around quite a bit or have taken on a number of short term contracting roles. 6. Education List all qualifications in reverse chronological order and include dates and institutions. You should bring certificates of all qualifications with you to interview, whether asked or not. 7. Hobbies/interests Do not feel obliged to include this section by default – many people no longer include this type of information at all. If you are going to include something here make sure it is of interest and ideally a topic of conversation for an interview. 8. Length of CV A CV should communicate information in a maximum of two to three pages, any longer and you’re really in danger of losing the interest of the recruiter. Don’t reduce font size in order to include wordy text, as Recruiters will not read through paragraphs. Instead, use bullet points and short brief sentences.
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