If you’re like many everywomanNetwork members, engineering the perfect CV is a long, hard slog in the face of a looming submission deadline.
For optimum success, follow Writing a killer CV webinar trainer Pippa’s Isbell’s five-point checklist.
1. Have I tailored this enough to the job specification?
“Tailor your CV to the job you’re going for” is up there with “spell check, spell check, spell check” when it comes to CV must-dos. And yet the pain of crafting a strong resumé is such that by the time it comes to tweak it for the eyes
of the recipient, it’s all too easy to think: “That’ll do”. For many (38% of everywomanNetwork members), failure to tailor is less about “can’t be bothered” and more a case of simply not knowing what to include and what to leave out.
In either instance, the job description is your friend, says Pippa Isbell, who notes that many recruiters now use filtering software to sift out CVs lacking essential keywords. Avoid landing in the reject pile before your document’s
even been given the human touch: ensure your resumé and its accompanying note speaks the language of the role and the department you’re applying for. As well as the official selection criteria, check out the company website, social
media channels, even the LinkedIn profiles of hiring managers and existing staff, not forgetting to utilise any potential
connections whose brains you can pick before you submit your application. And don’t forget, if you’re applying internally, you may already even know the team you’re looking to join, or the person doing the specific role you’re looking
to take on. Can you arrange an informal meeting to ensure you’re armed with as much knowledge as possible before interview?
2. Am I attempting to hide gaps that stick out like a sore thumb?
Perhaps you took a year out to travel the world, time off to raise a family, or you simply needed a break to rejuvenate before forging
ahead with your career?
Glossing over the gaps is unlikely to escape the canny eyes of recruiters, so whatever your situation, don’t ignore it. Be honest about your gap, its length, reasons and what was achieved, and you won’t end up in the pile marked ‘red
flags’.
3. Have I quantified my accomplishments as much as possible?
So you wrote a blog for the company’s website which attracted a huge traffic spike? You made a big saving by eliminating inefficiencies in your team’s processes? Came in well under budget and ahead of deadline for your most challenging
project to date? Bullets such as these may well grab your recruiter’s attention, but taking the time to really make them jump off the page is much more likely to result in an invitation to interview.
Think about how you use your language too. Starting your sentences with powerful ‘doing words’ brings your business dealings to life in a much more meaningful way.
Quantifying your accomplishments
Weak: Managed a budget to plan large-scale events for dealers.
Strong: Managed £25,000 budget to plan large-scale events for 2,500 dealers.
Weak: Wrote articles on leadership and technology.
Strong: Wrote six articles on leadership and technology, generating 115,000 page views, 2,003 ‘likes’ and 3,727 Retweets.
Look also for ways to quantify your accomplishments as much as possible. How many hits did that blog post get to make it the most read in your company’s history? Exactly how much of a saving did your shrewd anti-waste measures amount
to? By what percentage did your project come in under budget and by how many days, weeks or months did you smash your deadline?
Now is not the time to hide your light under a bushel, use “we” instead of “I” or be unspecific about all that you’ve done. So if, like 22% of everywomanNetwork members, you hate to boast, challenge yourself to be as factual and clear
as you can about your workplace situations, what you did, and the results you achieved.
4. Have I drawn on the advice of my network?
You’ve spent your career to date building a network of close and useful alliances. Now is the time to draw on their advice and support. Reach out to connections who can add use to your CV, perhaps
because they’re something of a grammar king or queen, understand your industry or the company you’re applying to well, or simply know you and can shine a light on where you might be underplaying or overemphasising your strengths.
Look beyond the CV too and at anyone else who could help in your endeavour to move onwards and upwards: a workplace sponsor, somebody who can connect you with someone useful inside the department or company, or someone who knows the
hiring manager and can share insight into what they might be looking for or the style of interview you can expect from them.
5. How can I make ‘Operation: Update CV’ easier on myself next time round?
Crafting the perfect resumé is rarely a joy for any prospective candidate. Only just over a third of everywomanNetwork members give their resumés a regular (quarterly) makeover regardless of the job situation. The majority operate on a
more kneejerk basis, with 35% dusting off the CV cobwebs when a juicy new role comes along, and 29% rushing something out when someone asks to see their CV.
Pippa Isbell urges you to see your CV as a “living document”, one you fine tune with each new hard-won accolade, skill or achievement. By committing to checking in regularly with your resumé, you’ll not only avoid the cumbersome task of
starting from almost-scratch with each new opportunity; you’ll be creating a master document of you at your very best, from which you can pull the most relevant nuggets for the role in question.
“Tailor your CV to the job you’re going for” is up there with “spell check, spell check, spell check” when it comes to CV must-dos. And yet the pain of crafting a strong resumé is such that by the time it comes to tweak it for the eyes
of the recipient, it’s all too easy to think: “That’ll do”. For many (38% of everywomanNetwork members), failure to tailor is less about “can’t be bothered” and more a case of simply not knowing what to include and what to leave out.
In either instance, the job description is your friend, says Pippa Isbell, who notes that many recruiters now use filtering software to sift out CVs lacking essential keywords. Avoid landing in the reject pile before your document’s
even been given the human touch: ensure your resumé and its accompanying note speaks the language of the role and the department you’re applying for. As well as the official selection criteria, check out the company website, social
media channels, even the LinkedIn profiles of hiring managers and existing staff, not forgetting to utilise any potential
connections whose brains you can pick before you submit your application. And don’t forget, if you’re applying internally, you may already even know the team you’re looking to join, or the person doing the specific role you’re looking
to take on. Can you arrange an informal meeting to ensure you’re armed with as much knowledge as possible before interview?
Perhaps you took a year out to travel the world, time off to raise a family, or you simply needed a break to rejuvenate before forging
ahead with your career?
Glossing over the gaps is unlikely to escape the canny eyes of recruiters, so whatever your situation, don’t ignore it. Be honest about your gap, its length, reasons and what was achieved, and you won’t end up in the pile marked ‘red
flags’.
So you wrote a blog for the company’s website which attracted a huge traffic spike? You made a big saving by eliminating inefficiencies in your team’s processes? Came in well under budget and ahead of deadline for your most challenging
project to date? Bullets such as these may well grab your recruiter’s attention, but taking the time to really make them jump off the page is much more likely to result in an invitation to interview.
Think about how you use your language too. Starting your sentences with powerful ‘doing words’ brings your business dealings to life in a much more meaningful way.
You’ve spent your career to date building a network of close and useful alliances. Now is the time to draw on their advice and support. Reach out to connections who can add use to your CV, perhaps
because they’re something of a grammar king or queen, understand your industry or the company you’re applying to well, or simply know you and can shine a light on where you might be underplaying or overemphasising your strengths.
Look beyond the CV too and at anyone else who could help in your endeavour to move onwards and upwards: a workplace sponsor, somebody who can connect you with someone useful inside the department or company, or someone who knows the
hiring manager and can share insight into what they might be looking for or the style of interview you can expect from them.
Crafting the perfect resumé is rarely a joy for any prospective candidate. Only just over a third of everywomanNetwork members give their resumés a regular (quarterly) makeover regardless of the job situation. The majority operate on a
more kneejerk basis, with 35% dusting off the CV cobwebs when a juicy new role comes along, and 29% rushing something out when someone asks to see their CV.
Pippa Isbell urges you to see your CV as a “living document”, one you fine tune with each new hard-won accolade, skill or achievement. By committing to checking in regularly with your resumé, you’ll not only avoid the cumbersome task of
starting from almost-scratch with each new opportunity; you’ll be creating a master document of you at your very best, from which you can pull the most relevant nuggets for the role in question.
