As a recruiter, I assess people’s suitability for a role by reading their CVs, and we read a lot of them on a daily basis. CVs are such an important currency in the recruitment industry and for your job search process. Consequently, we get asked a lot by people: ‘What makes a good CV?’ or ‘How do I write my CV so I can be more employable?’
The best way to answer this is by slightly changing your perception of CVs – away from a very rigid and formal document, to an advertisement about YOU. When you really think about it, prospective employers view CV to find suitable candidates to fill the role. And therefore, on the other side, the prospective employees should ‘advertise’ themselves to be suitable for the role. With this concept in mind, a good advert should meet certain key criteria and it is important that you follow these tips and implement them when you write your CV:
Memorable
We view hundreds of CV a year and recruiters are usually very visual people, so spend some time in making your CV looking ‘nice, different and unusual’ and make them easily memorable. Put more attention in formatting and designing your CV with varying fonts and sizes and make them ‘pop’.
Find a balance in making it visually pleasing, while not overloading it with graphics or cluttering the page.
Provides information quickly and succinctly
Did you know that a recruiter spends, on average, 7.4 seconds when they view your CV? That is why I strongly recommend that you go straight to the point when providing relevant information in your CV.
A study also shows that recruiters scan for job titles and subheads and that they scan the left side of the resume evenly. Therefore, grab our attention by using dot points rather than paragraphs, and simple layout with clear sections and heading titles.
Doesn’t confuse or overwhelm the viewer
Please avoid trying to cram everything in the document, it will overwhelm the reader and take away the focus.
You should also avoid cluttered look and feel, characterised by long sentences, multiple columns, and very little white space in your CV. Furthermore, do not overstuff your CV with keywords – your CVs are read by a real person and therefore, the keywords need to be presented in context.
Connects with its audience, their needs and desires
You need to put yourself in the employer’s point of view and ask yourself: ‘what information would I want to see in a CV when I recruit for this position?’. You will then be able to provide key information regarding your suitability to the role, right in the CV for the recruiter to see.
A Planner role in a Council will vary compared their counterparts in State Government or in the private sector. And it is important that your CV demonstrates key attributes or experiences you have to be successful in the role you are applying for.
Use jargons that are relatable to the role, and more importantly, to the audience. A HR Advisor may know and appreciate different jargons compared to a Planning Manager or Director. To be safe, avoid abbreviations e.g. Victorian Planning Provisions rather than VPP.
Features the contact information
Your CV MUST have all your contact details including your name, address, phone number and email address. If possible, include a link to your LinkedIn profile.
Now with these tips in mind, I have prepared a simple resume template which will allow you to build your resume. Please note that this is a template, and you should edit it to reflect you as a candidate and as a person. Good luck!