How to best tailor your CV

It is becoming part of every conversation I have with candidates at the moment, asking for an updated version of their CV before inviting them in to meet with me, before presenting it through to my client, or asking for an update to reflect a more ‘Kiwi’ style resume layout. Updating your CV has become an essential part of the job search process, and if you aren’t prepared to do it, don’t expect to find yourself at the top of the shortlist pile.

Which makes me think going through a few key tips in a more open forum could be very helpful – so those of you keen to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack can use this as a cheat sheet. The reason this has become so essential is that I’m sure all of you will agree everyone is pretty time poor these days, and very few line managers – read NONE – will invite someone for an interview who doesn’t appear to match their criteria on paper. Or perhaps you haven’t given as convincing a break down of your experience as another candidate you are up against. So here we go:

Essentially a little critical thinking is required in order to put together the most valuable CV document when you are applying for a role. I would assume that most of you read through a job ad in full before hitting the Apply button. At least I would really hope you do. Some of the apps we receive may argue with that logic though.

When you read through the body of a job ad there will be key points, experiences, skills, technologies etc. that the advertiser is looking for in candidates who apply. Some of these ads might even go so far as to detail out what is essential vs. nice to have experience for that role. This should trigger a lightbulb moment. If you read through this list of qualities and are thinking to yourself, perfect this exactly describes my background – please do yourself a favour and go and take a quick look through your CV, to check all those things you just mentally ticked off are actually mentioned. Surprisingly both internal and external recruiters, and line managers are not mind readers. And whilst in some situations you might still get a phone call and an opportunity to correct this. If you have applied for a time sensitive role, and someone else has a more comprehensive CV showing exactly how they match this opportunity, you may never be given a second chance.

Ok so now we have started off on this path, if you read through and think, perfect I can do this! I have been doing this! And you take that extra step to go and update your CV, please don’t just throw a couple of buzzwords, or technology names randomly into your CV. I’m looking at all of those of you with very comprehensive skills overviews at the start of your CV and no further mention of these experiences later on.

If you are going to take this step do it properly. A couple of words thrown into your CV doesn’t necessarily signify your level of expertise with something. This is only going to be truly appreciated if you mention the project, experience or skill under the role in which you utilised it, and give a quick overview of what you did. Yes adding a couple of random buzzwords may get a mediocre recruiters’ attention, but anyone who is actually worth their salt will be looking for contextual information around this, and not just a group of buzzwords thrown in at the end. And if you are interested in actually being taken seriously by a line manager yes this is necessary. I know writing CV’s is at the bottom of everyone’s list of favourite things to do at the end of an already long day. But if you are serious about finding a new role – and not just any role, but a fabulous one – you need to show them how fabulous you are by taking the time to update your CV in a way that does yourself and your experiences justice.

It’s not just lip service, this is how recruitment works. I promise you the time invested will pay dividends!

Happy Job Hunting!