A CV is your first point of contact with a recruitment agency or employer for a specific type of role. From the our (the recruitment agency) perspective, it's the only information we have to decide whether you are suitable for a position.
Tailor your CV for the type of role you are applying for:
Your CV has to be tailored for that particular type of job. It's very important that your CV directly addresses the criteria given in the job description, and above all else is relevant to the position.
The CV needs to be clear, concise and interesting. This is your only chance to make a good first impression.
make your CV stand out from the rest:
There are many standard CV formats that you can download online, most of which cover basic information requirements, but in order to stand out, your CV needs to really promote you as the applicant. Many people just list their responsibilities in the previous roles. But you really need to show what you've accomplished in your past work. In a way this is very similar to listing skills, but it also means showing what you've done with those skills. For example:
Instead of:
“I was responsible for the oversight and review of FSA client money reporting and daily reconciliations”
or
“Preparing briefs for marketing activities and securing sign off from relevant stakeholders for new initiatives”
Use:
“I was successful in suggesting and implementing new controls to help improve the accuracy and efficiency of FSA client money reporting and daily reconciliations.”
or
“After working with line managers, sales teams other relevant stakeholders, I was able to originate ideas and implement new marketing initiatives that utilised the full marketing mix, and increased the ROI.”
Everyone can jot down a list of responsibilities or skills that they had in a previous role, but what's important is to be able to quantify those things as achievements. Your recruitment consultant/future employer needs to see tangible results which relate to previous job/responsibilities.
Remember, your CV is being matched to a specific type of role, you need to show a potential employer that your previous work has been both productive and impressive.
The main aim is to make your CV an interesting document to read. It needs to give clear indications of what you've done, how you did it, and these are tangible proof of your skills. Without these identifying characteristics, your application may get lost in the crowd easily (and quite understandably).
things to remember to include in your CV:
1. Personal information (name, email address, postal address & contact telephone numbers)2. A short introductory overview highlighting your skills, exceptional qualities & future career plans. This will entice the employer/consultant read on.3. Educational qualifications (in reverse chronological order) and skills acquired, giving the name (and dates attended) for each educational institution
4. Additional training/skills (always list the databases/systems/programmes that you are experienced in using)
5. Professional Experience and achievements, split by role, giving jobs title, company, dates and length of time in each position.
6. The details of at least 2 referees.
things you should never include in your CV:
1. Do not use slang or colloquial language. The content should also be grammatically correct.
2. Do not use block paragraphs; as much as possible use bullet points that are easily scannable.
3. Do not attach a photograph, unless specifically requested.
4. Do not exaggerate or falsify your achievements, qualifications or skills. Recruiters will run a background check up before finalizing your placement, so you will be caught out.
5. Do not format your CV using tables or borders, and use an easily readable font, i.e. Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic etc.
6. Your CV should never by much longer than 2 A4 sides. You do not want a potential employer to discard your CV as they are too bored to read any further.
don’t leave gaps
Gaps make recruiters and employers suspicious. If you were travelling, studying, on maternity leave etc, be transparent and state this in your CV.
After following these CV tips, be sure to read our sample interview questions by specialism and interview techniques to get you ready for the next stage of the job application process