How To Make Your CV Stand Out From The Crowd

A recent study showed that recruiters spend only 6 seconds looking at your CV before making an initial judgment. The study showed that recruiters will look at your name, current title, current company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates and education.

Should you get beyond those critical 6 seconds, the content of your most recent job(s) is vital. You must showcase your recent experience in detail.  This will distinguish you from other candidates with similar CVs. We recommend around 10 bullet points of between 2 & 4 lines each.  Then think about how the CV looks:

Overview

  • Limit your CV to 2 or 3 pages and use a consistent font throughout. Only use bold for titles or headings
  • Use bullet points where relevant, as this makes it easier to read. Think about how you structure headings and sub headings
  • Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Do not rely on spell checker. Silly mistakes can automatically turn off a potential employer.
  • Make sure that all contact information is current.  Ensure you include your address, mobile number and email address.

IT Skills

  •   List your IT skills and level of competency in 1 - 3 lines, above your employment history

Employment

  • List your employment in reverse order, the most recent at the top, put dates in the same format and explain any gaps.
  • Describe your employer’s business.   Explain the industry sector, the size in terms of turnover and staff numbers and describe the product.
  • Take ownership for your responsibilities and use words that will give you credit for the work you have done, e.g. ‘responsibility for’, ‘implemented’, ‘created’ or ‘devised’.
  • If you show a list of achievements, make sure these are actual achievements and not  what would simply be expected to be part of your responsibilities

Education/Professional Qualifications

  • Give details of any professional qualification with year of qualification.  For education, state university and year for a degree and give details of your schooling and grades.

Other

  • At the end of the CV, list anything else you feel relevant.  Fluency in another language; details of any volunteer work; interests that may be a talking point or may break the ice at interview.