Tools

As your own personal marketing tool, your CV is your first chance to make an impression so don’t fall at the very first fence. Let us guide you through the rights and wrongs of the resumé. And, whatever you do, don’t put ‘CURRICULUM VITAE’ at the top because it’s perfectly clear what it is…

1. GET THE BASICS RIGHT
There are several rules of thumb when it comes to preparing a strong CV. So nothing too wacky, and make it easy on the eye with a judicious use of bullet points to break up the text. Remember to keep it to a maximum of two sides of A4, although if you’re going for a particularly senior level job, say at chief executive level, a one-page CV can actually be more effective. “Gimmicks are a no-no,” explains Ann Newsham, UK head of human resources with global digital marketing agency iCrossing. “That means no coloured paper, no zany fonts and not, as I once received with an application, a chocolate bar. It also means no photographs. It isn’t Big Brother.”

2. FACT NOT FLUFF
Try to have a two- or three-line personal profile under your name. Just make it factual, not cheesy or clichéd. There’s no point including phrases such as “highly motivated” or “team player” because they’ll assume you are anyway. After all, you’ve not going to put “unmotivated” or “loner”, are you? “The average recruiter will spend no more than 30 seconds looking at CV before making their mind up, so you have to grab their interest straight away,” explains Jenny Ungless, career coach with online recruitment agency Monster.

3. YOUR HISTORY…
When you’re dealing with your employment history, ensure that you list your jobs using reverse chronology so that the recruiter can get a firm grasp of where you are and what you’re doing right now. “The most important thing that any employer will want to know is your most recent job,” says Ungless. “So forget any summer jobs as a student in the distant past and if you have any gaps on your CV briefly explain why.”

4. FIGURE IT OUT
When you’re talking about your jobs, try and get across a good mix of achievements and responsibilities. “If you can quantify what you have achieved, be that in the size of the budget you controlled or maybe the amount of business you’ve brought in, then do it,” says Ungless. “It can give a strong and lasting impression of the level you’re operating at.”

5. SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
It all depends how far you are down the career path as to how detailed your education history needs to be. The further you are away from your school days the less necessary it is for you to list every last grade that you managed in your O-Levels or GCSEs. Just keep it succinct. “Don’t bother with that grade E you got in woodwork. It won’t do you any favours — especially if you’re applying to be a carpenter,” adds Newsham. “Just mention the number of passes and range of grades and, if you have a degree, the subject, class and where you studied. That’s all they need to know.

6. MAKE INTERESTS INTERESTING
The golden rule here is never simply put “socialising” as an interest. It means nothing. The interests section can be a really useful way of giving you an edge when an employer is faced with a stack of equally impressive CVs. “Just don’t put anything in there you can’t talk about,” adds Ungless. “If you say you’re a semi-professional canoeist when you’ve only been in a kayak once, it’s Sod’s Law that your interviewer will be into canoeing and catch you out.”

7. REFEREE!
Always ensure references are available on request and that they should only be taken up when you have a job offer on the table. “If you put the names down straight away, the worst thing that can happen is that the HR department will actually ring up, catch your referee off guard and they’ll say, ‘Jenny who?’” blog comments powered by Disqus