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Employers spend more time looking at your employment history than any other part of your CV. Consequently, this section needs to quickly convince a potential employer of your suitability to the advertised role and effectively market you for your current career goals.
But, there are different formats of CV that can be used to communicate your employment history and the type that is most suitable depends on what stage your career is at:
Everything that appears on your CV is designed to appeal to the needs of your potential employer and to answer the question “What do you offer that other applicants don't?”
Where you include the Education section on your CV is dependent on how well it enhances your application and, regardless of whether you have a lack or abundance of qualifications, the following tips will enable you put you on a level playing field to compete with your fellow job seekers.
Application forms help employers to compare candidates on a more even keel and allow the employer to extract more specific information than is often included in a CV. You will generally come across them in public sector or management trainee roles where the number of applicants is extremely high as it allows employers to spot if a certain box has not been ticked and quickly discard the unfortunate applicants
Almost 60% of employers claim that they have had to withdraw an offer of employment after receiving poor references about successful applicants. So, just because you have managed to wow your future employer at interview stage and convinced them that you are the best person for the job, it does not mean that you can get away with poorly prepared references.
References act as a third party endorsement – they are used by hiring managers as reassurance that you are who you say you are and will do for them what you claim you have done for your previous employers.
You've got the basic elements of your skills and experience down, now you need to fine-tune your CV to ensure it's got the ‘X-Factor' that will have employers queuing up for your services.
Understanding your audience
As your personal marketing campaign, your CV must make the reader believe you're a worthwhile product. Business people generally have the same objectives; profit, bigger market share, developing their business and creating new products for their customers. They will look for candidates who will help them to achieve these objectives.
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Career change CVs are completely different animals. Your current CV played an effective part in getting you the job you have now, but it might not work again in another industry. For this reason, you will almost certainly have to work through it and tailor it to the needs of the sector you're hoping to break into.
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It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your CV and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. Prevention is critical, so here are the most common pitfalls, and how you can avoid them.
Many moons ago, a job seeker typed their CV on plain white paper, put it into an envelope, licked a stamp and sent it through the post. Times have changed and today, more and more people are posting their applications online – which offers you the opportunity to create multimedia CVs designed to blow the minds of future employers.
An all-singing, all-dancing CV with elaborate graphics may seem like a great idea, but if not done correctly, it could be the fastest way to accelerate your application into the ‘No' pile.
So, you’ve got your CV prepared and you’ve seen a job you want to apply for.
Do you just send your CV out and leave it at that? Of course not. If you really want a particular job and you have exactly what it takes to do it, then a short, meaningful cover letter is your way of saying so. In fact, it’s vital that you attach one.
