If you thought you’d have bagged your dream job by this time in the year, but still haven’t, it may be down to your CV. Employers and recruiters review hundreds of CVs daily, and if yours looks just like every other, even if you’ve got the right experience, you may fall under the radar.
The good news is, it’s only March! There’s plenty of time to sort your CV out to ensure next time an opportunity comes up; you stand out amongst the crowd.
- Make yourself digitally visible
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know job hunting is so much more than your CV. The minute you submit an application on a job site, you’re most likely being LinkedIn searched by whoever is recruiting for that particular role within the space of an hour. If you’re not digitally visible, you’re missing a huge opportunity to stand out from the other candidates. And if the person hiring is searching for several candidates at once, you could be easily forgotten amongst other amazing profiles.
91% of companies are using LinkedIn daily, so setting up that profile is a must!
It’s worth noting that LinkedIn is also great for finding you jobs you didn’t know existed. Lots of recruiters ‘headhunt’ candidates before they even consider posting jobs on the likes of Indeed. And how do they headhunt? They look for strong profiles!
Keeping your profile up to date (even when you already have a job you love) could attract your next amazing opportunity.
Remember to add any Social Media links you’d like to share with employers on your CV! It saves them hunting you down, and means they can find your amazing online profile faster.
2. Ensure your accomplishments are up to date
When you’re casually browsing for jobs, it’s easy to send the same CV with no changes for 6 months, in some cases 1 year + if you’ve stayed in the same position. But remember, there’s so much you will have accomplished within that time. Think of projects you’ve finished, leads you’ve generated, and even things like charity events and fundraisers you organised. It all counts, get it in there!
3. Tailor your CV with each job application
This is advice that’ll never get old. Although it can be time consuming, tailoring your CV to fit each role could be the thing that makes several employers fight over you. And who doesn’t love when that happens?
Spend some time looking at the job description in detail, what exactly are they asking for? Once you know what they want, look at their company culture. Do they use any key phrases that stand out to you? Is there a specific thing they’re passionate about? Make sure you add it to your cover letter.
Top tip: make sure it comes from a genuine place. You might say on a cover letter that you love playing 5-aside (but you don’t, you’ve just seen it on this company’s social media), and the next thing you know you’re in footy boots in the rain wanting to cry. Keep it as real as possible!
4. Back yourself up with data where you can
A lot of the time, people make bold statements on their CVs.
For example:
I made the most sells ever recorded in the company within just 3 months of starting.
While this may be correct, employers and recruiters probably see this all the time. Be more factual, how many sales did you make? What is your conversion rate? What have your sales done for the company’s revenue and overall growth?
Your CV is your working-history story. And while we don’t want to see CV’s that go on for pages and pages, we want to see how you made a positive change to the business you were in.
Pro tip: If you find your CV is incredibly long, take out old experience like jobs you had while you were at Uni, or ones that are no longer relevant to your field.
Second pro tip: Writing a story can be tough, and many of us aren’t natural born writers. Using tools such as Grammarly can help paint the picture you’re after.
5. Add keywords and skills to your CV
If you’re into SEO or use apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram, you’ll understand the power of keywords. Your CV is no different. Before an employer’s eyes even glance over your CV, you may have already missed the cut.
Some employers use an ATS (applicant tracking system) to screen candidates, and if you’re missing the keywords they need, you may find your CV deleted before you’ve even been given a chance.
Struggling to find the correct keywords to add in? LinkedIn is always good for checking the jobs out in your area, and the keywords they’re looking for. You can even add these keywords to your LinkedIn profile, so the right jobs come up that match your skills.
If you struggle to add these into your CV, you can simply bullet point them as your key skills.
Need more inspiration? Head over to our blog for more CV and job tips, and get in touch if you’re based in the North West for a chat about all things jobs.
