Build a C.V worth Interviewing
The importance of a good CV cannot be overstated, as it serves as your first impression when seeking employment. Having spent several years reviewing resumes as a recruiter, I've learned what hiring managers appreciate and what can secure an interview or even a job offer. Unfortunately, I've also encountered candidates with the right experience who committed the cardinal sin of submitting a poorly written CV, resulting in their rejection. In this blog post, I will guide you on how to avoid those mistakes that hinder you from getting past the first set of eyes because there’s nothing worse than being rejected not because you aren’t qualified but because you didn’t follow this advice.
Using a C.V template
It can be a helpful starting point when creating your own CV to use a template. Templates provide a structured format that ensures your CV is well-organized and visually appealing. They offer a professional design and layout, saving you time and effort in creating a CV from scratch.
Tailoring the template to your specific needs and industry is crucial to stand out from other applicants. The content in the CV is just as important as the way the content is displayed. There's nothing worse than a badly formatted C.V and can be outputting to any prospective C.V screener.
Here are a few resources that offer free templates that you can use but the list is not exhaustive. I prefer the very basic C.V templates rather than the elaborate ones.
These websites provide a variety of CV templates to choose from and best of all they’re free to use. Remember to select a template that aligns with your industry and showcases your skills and qualifications effectively. I will say, in most cases a basic design works best.
Being Concise & Effective
When crafting an effective CV, it is important to prioritize conciseness. Avoid overexplaining every detail and instead focus on presenting relevant and impactful information. A concise CV enables hiring managers and recruiters to quickly understand your skills, experiences, and achievements without becoming overwhelmed by unnecessary details. After completing your CV, take a moment to read it from top to bottom in 10-15 seconds. This exercise will help you determine if the overall message effectively represents your professional profile. Keep in mind that studies suggest recruiters often spend around 8 seconds reviewing your resume to assess your suitability for the role. As a recruiter, I personally spend more than the suggested time reviewing a CV, but I tend to focus on keywords using CTRL+F to search. This brings us to the next important point: effectiveness. Ensure that you include relevant keywords in your resume. For example, a developer should mention their dominant programming language, frameworks, and tools they use. Even if it may seem obvious that a Frontend Developer should know HTML & CSS, it's still important to include these keywords in your CV because it may not be immediately apparent to the reviewer. If in doubt review the job description you intend to apply to and incorporate their keywords into your C.V.
Spelling and Structure
Integrating AI and Chat GPT into the process of spell checking, formatting and structuring your C.V can be a valuable tool to enhance its quality and presentation. I utilize this technology to maximize the impact of my written words, which I refer to as AGCV (Artificially Generated CV). AI has a unique ability to express ideas in a logical manner, enabling both spell checking and streamlining of language.
During my exploration of AI resume building tools, I had the opportunity to test several options, and I would like to share the ones that I found particularly useful. It's important to note that I do not have any collaborations or affiliations with these tools; my recommendations are solely based on my personal experience and assessment of their quality. These tools offer a free basic plan to create a CV using AI for formatting, wording and sentence formulation.
Ensuring that your CV is free of spelling errors is crucial. In fact, I have witnessed hiring managers reject candidates for a single spelling mistake in a language that is not their native tongue. For this reason, I would also recommend having a human double-check your completed C.V. While there are CV reviewing agencies available, I discourage their use. In my opinion, utilizing both AI and a human proofreader can achieve an equally effective result at zero cost.
C.V length
When it comes to the length of your CV, it's essential to aim for a concise document of one to two pages. Going beyond this limit is generally discouraged as it may overwhelm the reviewer. However, if you have extensive experience spanning several years, it's understandable that your CV might extend to more pages.
To effectively manage the length, start by elaborating on your three to four most recent and relevant positions. Provide detailed information about your responsibilities, achievements, and impact in those roles. For earlier positions, it's acceptable to list them with basic details such as the company name, job title, and dates, without delving into extensive descriptions. This approach allows you to prioritize the most relevant experiences and accomplishments while maintaining brevity and keeping the focus on what matters most to the reader.
Explaining the Gap in Your CV
This is a significant issue and could be an article on its own. Suffice it to say, you should always be able to explain why you have a gap in your CV. Come up with valid reasons for the gap and don't avoid the issue. Instead, include it in your CV as something like a "planned career break." When asked about it, be prepared with a solid reason. Avoid explanations that might imply an inability to obtain or maintain employment.
There you have it—those are the major themes that I highly encourage you to follow in order to increase your chances of success in the job market. Some smaller questions that have been asked over the years include whether to include your picture in your CV. In my opinion, this is a matter of preference, and I wouldn't say it negatively impacts your chances of passing the initial screening. As for hobbies, I would omit them as they don't add much to your experience. However, I haven't seen them have a negative effect unless you include something truly absurd. By "absurd," I mean anything that would make your employer question your ability to perform consistently.