It may sound obvious but the recruitment industry is absolutely essential to today's economy, but unfortunately is an area that does not receive the necessary effort from some candidates. Taking all the correct steps towards employment are often ignored by the individual, which is why we are here to help.
We work with both employers and candidates to match the right roles with the right skills. With my experience; I will be providing regular key suggestions and assistance to ensure that you, the potential employee, are taking those correct steps, beginning with your CV.
A CV is one of the most important documents anyone will write in their lifetime. It determines whether you get that aspirational job, secure an elusive interview, or neither. Writing the perfect CV requires a lot of time, effort and work to ensure it reflects you in the best way possible, highlighting key and relevant experience and high performance.
At InterQuest we strive to connect opportunity and talent every day. We pride ourselves on pairing people with the correct job for them. To help, we have identified ten key tips to help everyone improve their CV:
1. Start with the essentials. The key sections that your CV can be divided into are:
• Personal and contact information
• Education and qualifications
• Work history and/or experience
• Interests, achievements or hobbies
• Your referees' details
2. Presentation matters. The presentation of a CV is vital towards influencing an employer's first impression. CVs need to be clearly presented and printed on a crisp, clean piece of paper, and always use an A4 card envelope for posted applications.
3. Keep your CV concise. Your CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4. This might seem difficult, depending on how much experience you have, but it will help you keep your CV on point, ensuring expertise are focused upon and are suitably promoted.
4. Adapt your CV to the role. Do not create a generic CV to be used for all of job applications. The best results will come from a CV that has been tailored for a specific job description. Change your CV so that it relates to the employer's person specification each time and focuses upon relevant capabilities and supporting evidence.
5. Get the most out of your experience. Use positive and assertive language such as "achieved", "developed" and "organised". Words like these tell an employer that all of your experience has been worthwhile and that you have been successful in previous roles.
6. Read & re-read the job description. It might be an obvious one but this will give you all the clues you need for tailoring your CV towards getting an interview. If your skills do not exactly match the role, try to show how they are transferrable to the role.
7. Utilise all of your skills. All of your skills and experiences are important to helping you stand out from the competition. Make sure to include all your relevant proficiencies you have gained from your personal and professional experience in the skills section.
8. Be consistent with Social Media. If you use social media, such as LinkedIn, make sure that it is kept up-to-date and is in line with your CV. If you say you have a skill on your CV that is missing on LinkedIn, an employer will wonder why!
9. Provide your referees details. Always include the contact details of your two referees; previous line managers or employers are best. Providing your referees' contact details make it easy for an employer to check your credentials but also demonstrates that you are confident enough in your own reputation and what would be said of you to provide these details.
10. Make sure your CV is up-to-date. Regularly review your CV and add any new skills or experiences that are missing. Employers are always interested to see what a candidate has done recently, particularly if it has helped them to acquire new proficiencies or capabilities relevant to the role.
Obtaining the perfect job is never an easy task but taking these simple but effective tips and advice will ensure that your CV stands out from the rest, ensuring the best chance for success.