Recruitment to meet your needs
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Spring is here at last and bringing with it new and exciting possibilities and opportunities plentiful. With the full onslaught of the season upon us we tap into a deep human desire to invigorate our minds and bodies, we seek ways in which to renew and refresh and create space in our lives. We shed the dull winter skin, we vigorously spring clean our cluttered lives, and prepare ourselves for the big renew. And we don’t necessarily stop there with the ‘spring fever’. We take stock and look at our working lives and careers and ask ourselves if the current job we have dedicated ourself to is actually giving us the interest, rewards and fulfilment which we crave.
Our proven top tips on writing your CV will enable you to unleash your unlimited potential elsewhere.
Firstly its important for the CV to look neat and structured at first glance. As a general rule, two or three sides of A4 in portrait style will be perfectly sufficient. Create your CV in Microsoft word and send a Word version of your CV to recruiters you partner with as they may need to format to their own branding or upload onto a portal for a client. Use a simple clear professional font that reads well. Use your name as your heading and not ‘curriculum vitae’. Don’t include a photo as this adds no real value and could encourage quick judgements.
Adapt and tailor your CV to match the opportunity you are applying for, highlighting the key areas of your relevant expertise and experience and match up your strengths. If necessary making a change to the CV layout and removing or shortening any experience that is simply not relevant for the role would be better than leaving it in and hoping it will be unnoticed or overlooked. It won’t and potentially this could take away the focus of your suitability.
There is no better way of showing off your skills throughout your CV than by detailing your achievements. To demonstrate your proficient capabilities could give you a major advantage in making your CV stand out. Bullet and define each achievement in some detail to reflect your accomplishments. Include more detail for the recent roles, and for roles that are not so relevant or more than 5-10 years ago, simply list your key achievements.
A CV reads best in chronological order and should be checked thoroughly that it is correctly dated along with any unexplained gaps in your CV. If you had a career break or spent time travelling clearly add detail so all dates are accounted for. Don’t leave Gaps in your history as this can reflect badly.
Certain details are simply not relevant to have on your CV and will add no value whatsoever to your application. For example -Don’t state your date of birth, or age as this will be removed by HR Professionals and recruiters for it could potentially lead to discrimination accusations. Also don’t include your marital status, place of birth, religion, children or even pets. These details are not relevant. However do add your drivers’ licence and any other relevant licences, security clearance /CRB/ Disclosure Scotland status with your personal information. List your VISA information at the top of your CV with detail of which type and expiry dates.
If you’re in the early stages of your career then do list your qualifications at the start of your CV after your profile. If your qualifications aren’t very relevant or recent you can put them after your career history. Make sure you list the dates for subjects you have studied and the name of institutions. A brief overview will suffice for course content. If you have an Honours degree then list the classification. Remember to include any medals or distinctions as this could differentiate you from other candidates. Make copies of any certificates so you can easily include if required for applications.
Finally, your CV is your personal introduction and will be the first gathering of information a potential hiring manager will know about you. Make the right impression with a well-written CV and be sure to eliminate any spelling or grammatical errors. Reading a clear and brief personal statement, followed by a detailed history of your work experience and education is much preferred over the CV of a candidate who has submitted a rush job with numerous spelling mistakes and poorly described their work history.
Are you secretly longing for a new challenge or perhaps seeking a new/improved role? If so please contact us here at Silverjack for an informal and confidential discussion of your career requirements.
