Writing a Succesful CV
Your CV is of the utmost importance; it is the key to your personal marketing campaign.
It is a sales document - it must sound businesslike and convincing, and present the information in an attractive way.
Give it the time and effort it deserves. It will enable you to understand yourself in relation to your experience and achievements.
You must be fully aware of them and be able to talk about them with confidence.
In order to measure success we need to state the purpose of writing a CV.
The immediate purpose is to gain you an
interview. Research
indicates that most employers prefer the following:
Keep it neat
Aim for the best possible layout and content.
You will be judged by your CV.
Keep it brief
Most people can set out everything necessary on one or two sides of an A4 sheet.
Remember that the ability
to express oneself concisely is a managerial
strength.
Stick to the facts
Let the reader find out what kind of person you are from what you have
done. A good principle is to include in
a CV only information that can be factually verified. Leave out
expressions such as "... very communicative",
their truth can be conveyed much more effectively face to face in
an interview.
Be positive
Aim to bring out what you have done: your achievements, strengths,
contributions, transferable skills, experience and so on.
Content:
- Personal details (address, etc.) should come first
- Nationality to be stated
- State any language proficiency especially with regard to the open European Market
- A statement concerning willingness to relocate,
alongside any limitations to the position you are applying to
- No "Personal Characteristics" section
- Responsibilities and achievements listed
for current and previous employers
- Information regarding turnover, headcount
and products for current and previous employers
- A brief summary of professional, managerial
or other principal achievements is useful, provided it is strictly
factual
- Leisure interests, perhaps under the heading
"Other Activities"
To avoid having more than one version of
your CV, you could refer to your attitude to relocation and your career
aims within the covering letter which accompanies your CV.
Preparing a CV
There are two main stages in compiling a CV - assembling
the facts and redrafting. The aim is to produce a document
which a prospective employer or a recruiter, when reading rapidly,
will put in the 'YES' pile (for interview) . The ideal document will
be the one which includes all the information which is needed with an
element of originality but excludes the negative and superfluous information.
List all past experiences and achievements,
clearly identifying your strengths.
Put everything down. You may assemble more than
you can use in your CV, but this may still come in useful,
perhaps during an interview or in your cover letter. Draft, re-draft and edit
your CV until you have the best possible phrases to describe your experiences
and achievements. Rather than 'worked on the SAP implementation in 1998-1999',
explain precisely your part in the project; write 'I have four years'
experience of ...'(rather than 'I have had wide experience of...') and
'increased the turnover from EUR 45m to EUR 75m in two years' (instead of
'improved the turnover'). Be bold: recruiters are often influenced by
evidence of previous managerial and leadership successes. Spell them
out and quantify them.
If you introduced something new into the company,
say so, especially where it was successful and continued to be used.
Test your draft with a colleague or friend. Two minds are better than
one.
Consider using some of the
action verbs and functional skills (left column) to
describe what you have done and achieved. However,
bear in mind that strong verbs should be used selectively for maximum
impact. Be careful of unclear and general words.
Questions, Feedback, Suggestions?
Please use the Contact form.
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