How to create a compelling CV, to make you stand out from the crowd
A quality cv and good introductory email are essential tools in your job search. Their purpose is to consistently win you interviews - with interviews, you'll get job offers!
While there's lots of good information on the web and major job boards to coach and advise you on how to create a "Winning CV", most of those we see coming into PCR are still very average. Again, this is good news for you, because it means that it's not that hard to create concise and compelling documents that make you shine brighter your peers!
However, everybody you talk to will have a different opinion on what constitutes a great cv - e.g. "Should it be one page or two pages?", "Should it be this format or that format?". There are no absolute rights or wrongs - but the sole purpose of your CV and introductory email is to secure you a steady flow of relevant interviews.
Here are our top tips that we've acquired over the past 15 years.
- Invest quality time in creating or upgrading your cv. Most people just go back to a document they wrote ages ago, and update it with their latest experience.Good candidates reassess their cv, upgrade it, improve it. While it will never be perfect, you must be proud of it.
- Find a format you like. (Here's a link to a cv format we recommend). It must be professional, well structured, easy to read, with a mainstream font.
- Don't embed logo's or graphics into your cv. These can affect the way your cv is ingested into online and agency databases, and can even cause the email to be sent to a spam folder.
- Do embed links that help to better detail or present your work experience e.g.
i. Web Designers should have links to their portfolios
ii. Programmers should have links to some of their best code
iii. Business Analysts could have links to their best documentation - Spend time really thinking and make notes about what "you did", what "you were responsible for" and the specific achievements "you accomplished". This is probably one of the most important exercises in your job search. It will help you be much more succinct and clear in all your written and verbal communication.
- Most cvs read like a long list of vague responsibilities - far too woolly. Good cvs "punch" out the specific achievements of the individual. They're short, concise and specific. For example:
i. In 2008 I increased revenues by 23%
ii. In 2007 I led and delivered on 4 projects. The values of the projects ranged between £100k and £1m.
iii. I was the in-house expert on ...eg Crystal reports and Excel macros - Get your cv proof read and assessed by one or two people whose opinion you respect. However, always expect others people views to contradict advice you've already been given. There's no perfect cv formula. Ultimately, you must be the judge as to what you adjust or change. It's your cv and your door opener!
Don't imagine your cv will ever be a finished document. You'll adjust and improve it over time. You'll probably need to tweak it on many of your job applications to better highlight relevant responsibilities and achievements to suit the role you're going for - e.g. you should highlight your customer facing experience if you're applying for a role where that's an essential requirement.