CV Refresher – Secure Your 2019 Contract With These Tips

Recruiters are a busy bunch. They spend the majority of their day on the phone and, surveys have shown on average they can make between 40 – 70 phone calls per day.

On top of this, they’re holding interviews, crafting job descriptions, and negotiating job offerings. Meaning, there isn’t a lot of time left over to be sifting through the hundreds of CV’s that pop up in their inbox each day.

When it comes to landing a contract, first impressions do count. It’s vital to catch the recruiter or hiring managers attention through the first glance of your CV to have a chance of progressing through to an initial phone call.

Here are our top five tips to refreshing your CV and standing out in 2019.

Fine-Tune The Format

The format of your CV is one of the most important aspects to get right. The content of your CV needs to in a logical order, with the most important and relevant information at the top of the page.

Think about what you believe the recruiter will be most interested in and ensure that you present this in an eye-catching position on the page. It’s essential to list your previous experience in the order of most relevant; this will likely be different for each application.

Adding hobbies and interest on the first page will only distract the recruiter. If you want to incorporate these fields on your CV, make sure they come after your education, experience and relevant skills.

Customise, Customise, Customise

We really can’t stress this point enough.

Recruiters can spot a non-tailored CV from a mile away. They are much less likely to contact someone who sent a generic CV, compared to someone who spent 5 – 10 minutes tweaking their skills section to reflect the position requirements.

Soft-skill attributes are becoming increasingly important when it comes to hiring. However, at this early stage, soft skills are irrelevant. It’s all about your capability of completing the job-at-hand.

You need to stand out on a piece of paper and to do this you need to prove that you have the relevant skills and experience. To do this successfully, you must customise!

Add A Little Love

Imagine looking at 50+ black and white CV’s with the Times New Roman font each day. Anybody would begin to lose interest. The design of your CV is a nifty way to catch a recruiter’s attention.

The best thing is, you don’t need to be a design whiz to create a beautifully crafted CV. There are now hundreds of templates available where all you need to do is fill in the blanks.

Now, remember, this is your job application not an invitation to a birthday party. Aim for neutral colours and a template that highlights your skills and experience without being a distraction.

Get To The Point

A lengthy ‘About Me’ section is unnecessary and a waste of useful CV space. Recruiters are going to skim over this section if it’s anything longer than a few lines.

The ‘About Me’ section of your CV should be a short, punchy snapshot that encapsulates you and your attitude towards work. Decide on your best three work-related personality traits and keep it to no more than three-four lines long.

Take note that we said ‘work-related’, including things like; ‘life of the party’ may not draw the desired attention!

Add To Your Education

It’s so important to add to the education section of your CV continuously. Not only updating your CV with new educational achievements but adding to and developing your real life education.

In the digital world that we live in, online courses are readily accessible and affordable. You can complete short-term and long-term online degrees or courses from the comfort of your own home.

Learning new attributes is a fantastic way to keep a competitive edge and demonstrate your ability to pick up new skills.

Now stop reading and get to work!