Spring Clean Your CV
Although it doesn’t feel like it yet, we are now in spring! The nights are getting longer and the birds are chirping extremely loudly early in the mornings! Everyone loves a good spring clean, and what better time to take a look at your CV and give it a good ol’ dust off too?
Did you know that it takes recruiters on average 6 seconds to review your CV and decide whether you are right for the role?
I meet with an average of 10 candidates per week and at least half are in need of a CV spring clean. It really does make a difference; this is the first impression your potential employer gets of you so you need to present well!
As I always say, this is your book cover, you need to excite and entice the reader to want to pick that book up and read more, but don’t give away the whole plot on the cover!
Here are some tips to spring clean your CV and better your chances of being shortlisted for that perfect role;
Personal summary
Who are you? This should be just a few sentences to give a little bit of your personality and background. This should be changeable, so make sure whenever you are applying for a role that this personal summary is adapted to be suitable for the specific role you are applying for.
Declutter your responsibilities
Sometimes it is best to start from scratch, especially if you have more than 2 pages. Think of the role you are looking at going into, and consider the skills or experience you already have which are relevant. Those that aren’t relevant don’t make the cut. I’d say 5-7 key responsibilities for each role is the right amount. Keep these short and concise e.g. “managed end-to-end campaigns across Social from sourcing content, planning/scheduling to reporting and insights.”
List your achievements
To give your experience more context, list 2-3 key achievements for each role. This can be results/number driven (if you have this data) or simply a large campaign or project that you worked across.
Give it some flair
Recruiters look at a high number of CV’s every day, make yourself stand out by having a bit of creative design, you are in a creative industry after all! There are templates you can use on Canva that will help you with this. Make sure your CV looks professional, the format flows and importantly, ensure it is easy to read.
Oh, and finally…make sure you double check spelling! Use an app such as Grammarly which is a great tool for checking spelling and grammar. This is so important for marketers especially with ‘attention to detail’ high on the skills list!
If you need any confidential advice on your CV please do reach out, happy to help.
