Overview:
- A CV is an extension of your business card. It should not be War & Peace. Keep it robust, complete, clean and concise, no bull. Maintain some mystery and pique the reader’s interest!
Quick & Dirty tips:
- 2 pages max. – (10 second scan by reader. Recruiters 100-200 CV’s per day).
- Your name in big bold font.
- No photos, fancy fonts, crazy colours – (Excuse for HR to screen you out!)
- No addresses, dates of birth etc. – (Again, screen out avoidance)
- Email and mobile on the footer. – (Pages become separated!) (No Nicknames – Bigboy69@gmail.com)
- Keyword rich for ATS/HR hurdles.
- Dates etc. all linking, no gaps.
- Typo’s – (No excuses – Have three people read it)
Main body of CV
- USP – (10 second elevator pitch).
- Work experience in chronological order – (This is what I did / this is how successful I was)
- Education – (A Masters does not require you to also list leaving cert results!)
- Hobbies/interests – (Show you are human)
- No need to state that ‘Refs are available on request’ – (That’s presumed!)
Review
- Have three people look over the finished article, a grammar whizz, a recruiter/HR person and an executive leader/Hiring manager.
- Finally, make sure your polished CV is reflected in your Linkedin profile. It will be checked!
