So, it would seem it’s that time of year again when people start to feel like it’s time for a change. In my opinion, it’s no coincidence that summer and Christmas holidays are placed where they are in the year, it appears that we are on a 6 month boredom threshold and dramatic changes in weather affect how we feel about everything. The truth is though, that if the holidays don’t work, then it probably is time to take the bull by the horns and make changes!
Over the past few months, a number of my good friends have discussed how they are feeling bored, downtrodden and demotivated by their job, company or both. To add injury, the past year or so of recession and political turmoil have further contributed to feelings of dissatisfaction. The good news is that the job market is currently enjoying an upturn and there is a window of opportunity to look for a new and better role. So it’s time to brush of the cobwebs, dry clean your best suit and get your CV up to scratch!
On a day to day basis, I read CVs for a variety of roles and it’s interesting to look at the differences between professions. For example, this past week I have been recruiting for a Design Assistant and have received a large amount of highly graphic pdf formatted CVs that look awesome, but the design can sometimes overshadow the content, whereas a highly experienced Developer’s CV can sometimes go into unecessary detail and read like a monotone ”War and Peace”! So, how to get it right?
Well, first, cast out one of the most common myths about CV writing: It should be no longer than 2 pages! wrong, If you are a new graduate with very little work experience, then 2 pages should suffice, however, I’m sure most candidates of a certain age would struggle to articulate and do themselves justice in 2 pages, therefore make sure that you are not missing out valuable information; find a balance between saying what is relevant, but keeping it to the point! I’d advise that your CV be no longer than 4/5 pages. A good way to present it is to put in more detail about your current role and as you go backwards, summarise previous roles in lesser detail. The likelyhood is that you will be going for a similar role to the one you are doing currently and therefore the more you tell the potential employer, the better your chances. Remember, it may only take them 10 seconds to read your CV!
Secondly, appearance is not as important as content! If you are sending your CV in to a Recruitment Agency, don’t worry too much about the appearance of your CV, yes, it should be well formatted and easy to read, but we usually brand the CVs with our own logos and therefore any fancy graphics may get lost by the time the CV reaches a client. If sending directly to an organisation and the role is creative, then by all means go for it! But make sure the content is up to scratch. Also, if the job advertisments asks for samples of work and a portfolio, make sure you are sending these along with your CV and in a convenient format, for example, links to websites and online PDFs are preferable to 20MB files we need to download. If your work is subject to an Non Disclosure Agreement, communicate this and see if you can present your work using screenshots in pdf format with any sensitive information deleted.
Finally, here are a few pointers to follow to make sure your CV is meeting basic standards:
- Don’t fudge over dates and job titles to hide the fact that you have been unemployed, switched jobs frequently or been in a low level position. You’ll do yourself no favours by lying and will be very embarrassed when you get caught out. Instead think of how you can reflect positively on these issues.
- Make sure you write the name of the company’s you have worked for and try to give a brief summary of what they do, the market they operate in and a bit about the company ethos.
- Try to think of some of your professional achievements and mention anything unique about you and your role i.e. if you have progressed quickly or taken on any additional responsibilities etc…
- Include personal details, such as your address and contact details, but omit things like age, marital status, family, race, religion etc… (You want to be judged purely on the merits of your skills and experience)
- If you are on a work permit, it is often beneficial to mention what type of Visa you have and the dates it is valid to and from.
- If you are looking for a change in career, then it is better to focus on your transferable and generic skills rather than specific and specialised. In this case, employers want to see that you are flexible and can pick up new things quickly.
- Don’t write on your CV why you left your previous role or why you want to leave your current role. Again, think up how to explain these points in the most positive way during an interview.
- If you are looking at a technical role, make sure you list all the skills you are currently using and don’t try to pass off older, rusty skills as current as you will probably get caught out during the interview process and waste both your own and everyone else’s time.
Looks cool, but would you employ from this?
For further hints and tips:
http://www.cvtips.com/resumes-and-cvs/
http://www.successfulcvs.com/GoodBadCV.html
http://www.thecvstore.net/blog/
http://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/cv_for_the_digital_age.php
