If your job search isn’t going as planned, and you’re seeing more rejections than you had hoped for, your CV is probably the main culprit.
A CV that doesn’t reflect your strengths adequately to recruiters and employers is never going to help you reach your lofty careers goals.
So, if you’re currently being held back from your next big career move, here are five fool-proof ways you can give your CV an upgrade and start getting more responses in the job market.
Reformat
One of the most important things to keep in mind when writing a CV is that they only get around six to eight seconds of air time.
Recruiters are time-poor, and when reviewing a lot of applications, they must be able to quickly scan through and determine which candidates are worth inviting in for an interview and which aren’t.
Therefore, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to see that you’re a skilled and suitable – and the format plays a big part in that.
If your current CV is bursting at the seams with text, or perhaps you’ve experimented with a quirky layout in the past, it might be time to do some reformatting.
Go through and cut down any bulky chunks of text and make sure you’ve used sub-headings and bullet points where appropriate to break up the information and make it easier to read.
What’s more, although it can be tempting to try and keep up with more modern formats, sometimes these can actually damage your chances of landing the role, so it’s best to stick with simplicity and readability over anything else.
Optimise the top quarter
The top quarter of your CV is the section that is first visible when a recruiter opens the document.
This means it must be persuasive and grab their attention from the moment they set eyes on it.
Make sure this section (which includes your profile, core skills section and current role) are packed with the most sought-after requirements that your target employers are looking for. Research your target jobs thoroughly to extract the most in-demand skills, experience and knowledge in your field, and highlight your most suitable talents in this top part of your CV.
This way, when the recruiter begins skimming through your CV, they will instantly see that you’re a good fit for the position.
Unemployed beautiful young woman looking for a job online from home using laptop and writing down … [+]GETTY
Take on new responsibilities
If you feel like your CV is lacking some of the most requested skills for your target jobs, or perhaps you don’t have as many recent achievements as you’d like, then you consider taking on some new responsibilities.
Speak to your current employer about working on new projects, overseeing more employees or taking on any other responsibilities that will help you to gain the necessary experience for your new chosen roles.
This will give you some new talking points for your CV and is your chance to get some impressive results or projects behind you that you can shout about on your application.
Upskill
One way to instantly boost your employability and make your CV look great is to learn some new skills. For example, you might wish to learn how to use new tools or software, remote working practices, or even just upgrade your knowledge in your current field.
There are multiple ways you can do gain skills nowadays; you could take an online course or digital workshop, listen to podcasts or watch tutorials. Alternatively, you could join an evening class or ask someone in your current workplace to teach you.
However you choose to go about it, it’s a good idea to work out your objectives first as this will help you choose the right type of course or training for your career. Let’s say you have an ideal new job in mind; you can take a look over similar job descriptions to find out what sought-after skills or know-how you’re missing. This will help to guide you in your pursuit of knowledge and new skill sets.
Strip out irrelevant details
When you’ve had a long or established career, you might have years of experience and multiple qualifications behind you, but over time these can become less relevant and simply take up precious space.
In fact, when it comes to your CV, the information you choose to leave out can be just as important as the information you choose to include.
The best approach to take is to examine the job description and see what the employer is after, then omit any information that is not relevant or required for the role.
For example, in your employment history, you can leave out any roles that aren’t relevant to the industry or position you’re applying for and cut down any older roles to just one-line summaries.
By stripping out any outdated or irrelevant information, you make it much easier for the recruiter to find the relevant information that proves you’re a good fit for the role.
So, if you are looking for a new position this year, keep this advice in mind when writing your CV. Even just one of our five tips could be enough to instantly boost your CV and help you secure an interview.
Comments
onencan Francis - May 16, 2022
perfect!
Walina Winston Maliro - September 19, 2022
What’s the correct format,for a credible cv
Okolong Benjamin - June 10, 2022
Good one
How can I get the CV format
Apidit Patrick. - September 17, 2022
How can j make the best CV format?
Apidit Patrick - September 17, 2022
Very good advice, j really appreciate it.
But how can j come up with the best CV format.?
Wasswa Peter - September 19, 2022
Thanks much for the advise. Where can I get some of the different good CV formats to better the one am having