It's been another busy month and I have been fortunate to have worked with a number of talented (and frankly lovely) clients who make this job the best in the world. I've had updates on new-found confidence, job offers and life changes which is always the best part!
I work with a small number of clients each week so I can fully support them and ensure the quality of my work is top notch, meaning I can't always help everyone who gets in touch.
So instead, I have some top tips to help anyone who is having a go at their CV themselves - there's no single right or wrong way, so don't be afraid but there are definitely some things that can make a big difference and are worth taking some advice on...
1. Include a headline - make this the title of job you're applying for in order to send a clear signal you want this position and have tailored your CV specifically to it.
2. Tailor your CV - yes, every time! Investing energy into tweaking your CV is always worthwhile and will get you much further than a "spray and pray" approach.
3. Match keywords - read the job description or person specification thoroughly and make sure that your written content aligns with the skills and qualities they are looking for.
4. Add some numbers - demonstrate what you have achieved either with clear results (e.g. grew sales by 12%) or if you can't, then show scale (e.g. managed a team of 45 developers).
5. Proofread - it is vital to have the edge in a competitive market, so go old school and print it out or try Word's Read Aloud feature (or Grammarly if you're online).
And finally... things you can leave out include your photo, personal details such as marital status, your full address, generic interests, irrelevant or old details (focus on the last 10-15 years of job history and list earlier roles as a summary) and the phrase "references available on request".
As a guiding principle, keep your CV looking readable and make sure your content is recent, relevant and results focused to give you reach towards your career goal.
Good luck!
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