It’s crucial that your CV clearly and concisely sells your experience, so you are interviewed for as many roles as possible. This blog post provides tips on writing your CV if you choose to write your own CV rather than using a CV writing service. It provides CV writing tips, CV writing help and guidance, as well as linking to blog articles to help you to improve your CV.

Read the job description before you start!

Before you start writing your CV, read the job description thoroughly, particularly the person specification and role requirements, which provide the criteria which the recruiter will assess your experience against. Then read it again, to ensure you thoroughly understand the skills, experience, qualifications and keywords the recruiter is looking for in your CV.

Write your CV for your audience (recruiters!)

Use the criteria in the job description as a cheat-sheet, and focus on how your skills/experience match what the recruiter is looking for. Most people shape their CV around the duties in their current role, which may or may not match what the recruiter is looking for. You can find further information and tips on tailoring your CV in this blog post.

Choose a simple CV design

Recruiters need to be able to quickly skim read your CV to ascertain whether you have the necessary skills and experience. Make this as easy as possible for them by using a traditional format with one or two columns, so all the information is where they expect it to be. Avoid complex formatting, multiple columns, unusual fonts and bright colours which make a CV difficult to read. Recruiters are interested in your skills and experience, so you need to draw their attention to this, rather than your CV design. You can find further information and tips on choosing a CV design in this blog post.

CV Structure / Format

Think about how your experience relates to the role and structure your CV to make your key skills, experience and achievements stand out on the first page of your CV.

Decide whether to use a reverse chronological CV format (which is ideal for most people), or a skills based CV format (ideal when you have the required skills, but less experience using them, such as school-leavers and people seeking a career change).

Order the sections in order of relevance to the recruiter. You may wish to list essential certifications or training before your employment history. Recent graduates may wish to place the education section before their employment history. You may wish to include a career highlights section, rather than a key skills section, if this enables you to highlight major achievements which would otherwise be on the second or third pages of your CV. List the least important information such as computer skills towards the end of your CV. You can find further information and tips on how to structure your CV in this blog post.

Create a powerful personal statement and key skills section

Your personal statement is the short paragraph which opens your CV. As this is the first thing the recruiter sees when they open your CV, it needs to concisely summarise your experience and emphasise how you will deliver value in the role, so the recruiter reads the remainder of your CV.

Your key skills section sits immediately under your personal profile. Some people use a bulleted list of skills, however it is much more powerful to identify the five main areas of the role from the job description, use these as headings and write a one line summary of how you will deliver value in each area (or add a key achievement for each area). Executives may wish to use a career highlights section instead of key skills. It is often easiest to write your key skills / career highlights section first, then write your personal profile, building on your key skills / career highlights section without duplicating information.

Use bullet points

Use bullet points in your employment history, education and other sections. This makes it easier for the recruiter to skim read the text. Aim for 6-8 bullet points for your most recent roles. Aim to provide a summary of your role in the first bullet point, then provide further detail on what you did and the impact this had in the subsequent bullet points. You only need to write detailed descriptions of your last few roles. You can include one or two bullet points for earlier roles, simply list job titles, company names and dates, or you may wish to omit your earlier roles. Aim for two pages, or a maximum of three pages for a senior candidate.

Include metrics in your key achievements

Recruiters are looking for high achievers with a proven track record of success, the best way to demonstrate this is by including two or three stand-out achievements per role which are relevant to the role you are applying for. Add metrics to evidence your achievements. Achievements can include revenue generation, cost savings, time savings, people helped, process efficiencies, key projects, awards and recognition etc.

• Saved £100k per annum by renegotiating supplier contracts
• Streamlined and automated processes, reducing the time spent on routine administrative tasks by 30%
  

Use powerful language

Start each line of your employment history with a powerful verb, rather than “responsible for”. Once you’ve written your CV, re-read it and use a thesaurus if you find yourself repeating the same verbs.

• Leading
• Empowering
• Controlling
• Devising
• Achieving
• Generating etc
  

Keyword optimisation

Don’t forget to keyword optimise your CV. You can do this by reviewing job descriptions for your target roles and ensuring you use the keywords from the job description. This ensures your CV will pass through recruitment tracking systems, so it reaches the recruiter, as well as ensuring that recruiters are able to find your CV and LinkedIn profile when searching for candidates with your experience. You can find further information and tips on how to keyword optimise your CV in this blog post.

Don’t include

• Personal information such as date of birth, marital status, religion, sexual orientation etc. It’s irrelevant to your application and can lead to discrimination.
• A photo, it’s really common to include a photo in Europe and the Middle East, but it is not required in the UK.
• An unprofessional sounding email address. You can easily set up firstname.surname or firstname_surname at gmail/hotmail/yahoo etc.
• Avoid generic clichés such as hard-working, team player and enthusiastic. Demonstrate this through examples instead.
• Any jargon, use clear, simple language, the first review of your CV is usually completed by HR, who do not have a technical background. Your CV needs to pass this review, prior to reaching the hiring manager.
  

Almost there!

It’s time for a final check, review the following points:

• Ensure your contact details such as phone number and email address are correct.
• Send your CV as a PDF or word document, save this as John Smiths CV, rather than just CV.
• Proof read your CV thoroughly, run it through a spell checker and ask a friend to review it. 80% of CVs contain grammatical, or spelling mistakes.
  

Ensuring your CV stands out

Whilst anyone can write a CV, it’s much harder to write a CV which stands out to recruiters. The easiest way to maximise the impact of your CV is to have your CV professionally written for you.

As a professional CV Writer, I offer CV writing help including a CV writing service which includes a telephone consultation to discuss your skills and experience and tailor your new CV to a role of your choice. This ensures your CV stands out from others whilst clearly and concisely setting out what you can do for your next company – not just what you’ve done in the past. For more information, please visit my CV Writing Service page, call me for a friendly chat on 07917 137210 or email me via becky@interviewsuccess.co.uk.