How To Dust The Cobwebs Off Your CV

It’s time to spring clean your CV

For the most part, we all do a pretty good job of keeping our CV updated with our latest/most recent job posts. But what about everything else?

How much attention do we pay to the presentation of all this information we expect a stranger to digest?

A recent post on CAREERREALISM identified 7 areas of a CV that are often allowed to gather dust. Staying true to the impatient nature of generation Y, I’ve shortened this list and focused on what we consider important.

1. Personal statement
   Make sure your personal statement reflects the most current version of you. Does it outline your current goals and career prospects? Does it tell a hiring manager “this role is for me!”? If you don’t have one, get one in there!
2. Design/Format
   Recently saw a job application where the cover letter was written in Comic Sans! Not the way to get hired, if you didn’t already know. Make sure the design and layout of your CV is fit for purpose.
3. Keywords are missing
   With online and social recruitment now the norm, this is more important than ever. Just as the recruitment manager will scan your CV for things they like about you, search engines do the same thing. Recruiters are all about quick results, so they rely on search criteria to filter down to the most suitable candidates.
4. What are your hard skills
   The world has gone soft. Soft skills have seemingly taken precedent over being able to actually do things. Glad to report ‘Hard Skills’ are making a comeback (just being nice will only get you so far). Companies are demanding more for their money, so tell them what you can do; making memes with Photoshop, carving star wars figurines ut of wood etc.(do keep it relevant).

Remember: best case, there are 120 applicants for the role you’re going for. You may want to make your CV “shout” a bit.

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