04/03/2010
Review and improve your CV
Samantha Pearce is the owner of Words Worth Reading an online editorial service for Job Seekers, Students, Writers and Businesses. Words Worth Reading offer individually-tailored, comprehensive CV and application form writing and editing services. Sam is also WorkWise's CV expert. She reveals how to review and improve your CV.
If you’ve sent out hundreds of CVs and you’re still not getting called to interview, or even receiving any acknowledgement that your CV has been viewed, then it may be a good idea to analyse your CV and accept that you may need to make changes.
When reviewing your CV, try to read it as though you’ve never seen it before. Imagine that you are the employer receiving your CV on their desk, and try to understand exactly how your CV is being perceived by others.
The most important thing to check for is correct spellings and the correct use of punctuation.
An employer may receive hundreds of CVs for just one position and because of this they often look for a quick way to shortlist. The easiest and most widely used method of doing this is to discard any CVs that contain spelling or punctuation errors. The actual content of your CV may describe you as the perfect candidate for the job but if you’ve made spelling mistakes your CV will be disregarded immediately.
It is often hard to spot mistakes in your own work and a useful tip is to read your CV backwards; this way you are reading the words out of context and your brain will not be filling in the gaps or visualising letters and punctuation that should be there but aren’t.
Another important and easy way to improve your CV is to ensure that the formatting and layout are neat and consistent.
Check that you have used the same font throughout your CV and if using bullet points, that you have used the same style all the way through.
If you’ve included fancy imagery or photographs, the general consensus is that you should delete them. A photograph of yourself could actually cause an employer to develop preconceptions about you that may not be favourable, therefore always try to win them over with your achievements, knowledge and experience and not your smile.
Leaving gaps is another reason why your CV may end up in the bin.
Check through your CV and ensure that all of your dates produce an almost continuous timeline that demonstrates you gaining skills and achieving success.
Small gaps between jobs, of a couple of months, are totally acceptable and indeed expected; but any unexplained longer periods of time out of employment can be viewed with suspicion.
If you have been raising a family or have simply struggled to find work then state this, but also state the skills that you have gained and nurtured during this time.
Do not give the employer the opportunity to consider that you have been lazy or unproductive at any stage in your career. It is also important to note here that a CV without any gaps can also raise suspicion, as the likelihood of always falling from one job, immediately into another, is very slim.
Finally, recruiters hate to see clichéd phrases used without any firm evidence to back up the claims. It is essential that if you make claims such as, “I have excellent communication skills”, you need to then continue this sentence with detailed information about how you have demonstrated this within a previous role.
If you consider these top tips when reviewing your CV, and make changes accordingly, then you will certainly produce an improved CV.
This CV should then have a greater chance of staying on the employer’s desk rather than ending up in their bin.
-ends-
Sam is WorkWise's CV expert. If you have a question for her please click here and remember you can also discuss CVs with other Jobseekers on IrishJobs.ie online forum
Sam's company Words Worth Reading offer individually-tailored, comprehensive CV and application form writing and editing services at fantastic prices, with quick turnaround times.
For more information visit http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/
You can contact the team on sam@wordsworthreading.co.uk
Call them on 00441245707580
Samantha Pearce