Three Tips to Creating a Killer CV

Writing a CV, regardless of whether you’re looking for a permanent or temporary job in London, is a difficult task. It’s a task that requires time and care: Understand what you need to write and remember to keep your CV on one or two pages. Here are three ways to make sure you grasp your potential employer’s attention and make them want to interview you.

Make it clear

Be sure to keep your CV clear. Break it down into sections; personal information and statement, employment history, education and interests/achievements. By breaking it down, your employer can easily read through and find the relevant information they may require.

Start with your personal information. At the top of the page, put your name, then you must put contact details. By putting down your e-mail address and contact number, an employer or an agency can easily contact you in regards to potential job opportunities. If you miss this critical information, you run the risk of losing out on excellent roles.

You will then need to ensure that each job summary is formatted in the same way. Break down your responsibilities into bullet points. This will enable the recruiter to read through your CV easily and get a basic understanding of your experience. Be clear about what you do in each role, and never, ever lie on your CV! This could make your life extremely awkward when questioned in an interview.

Never leave a gap in your CV. If you have taken a career break, be sure to mention this. Inconsistencies with dates will be picked up on by recruiters and may jeopardise your chances of getting an interview.

Proofread your CV. It may sound obvious, but it can be so easy to miss off vital information, or even miss a spelling error. When you have looked at a single document for a long length of time, you could overlook mistakes. Ask a close friend or family member to take the time to proofread your curriculum vitae. They may even give you suggestions of other areas you may have missed out from your responsibilities or education.

A photograph is not necessary. Here at Tiger, before passing on a CV to a client for the interviewing stage, we remove all photographs. An employer will be judging you by your experience, not by your face!

Think about the role you are applying for

If you are applying for a PA job, think about the transferable skills you may have in your past experience. If you worked in a restaurant when you were in your teens, the experience may not be relevant to the role you are applying for. Think about how you could show your potential employer that you can walk into a role and have no problems with any task thrown in your direction.

Take a good look over the job advert or description. Think about the areas which you have experience in and feel that you could excel at. Then when writing your CV, relate back to these points. Mention where you have used said skills in a previous role. It’s important to tailor your CV to each role, instead of submitting something generic.

If the role you are applying for requires a foreign language speaker, make sure to highlight which languages you speak and at what level.

When mentioning your interests outside of the work place, take the time to think about exactly what you are going to write. Avoid mentioning that you like travelling; some employers may see this as a negative and that you may not want to stay in the role for a long length of time. Instead, mention interests that indicate favourable skills. For example, taking part in team sport shows that you are work well in a team, you are sociable and that you are active.

Keep updating your CV

Remember to keep your CV up to date. This will make your life a lot easier in the long run. Make a note of your responsibilities in each role. You will then be able to go in at a later date and tailor your CV to the position you are looking to apply for.

Turn negatives into positives. You may mention an area which you find very stressful within your role. When writing about this, turn it around to be a positive. Show that you are keen and willing to work to your best ability to achieve a target or reach a deadline.

No matter how big or small, ensure you note down your achievements. Some companies have charity schemes in place. This could be helping at a homeless shelter, or even organising a bake sale. Place achievements like these on your CV. Not only does it show team work put it also shows compassion for others.

If your current job role requires you to work on projects then updating your CV on a regular basis is crucial. You could easily forget elements that you have touched on, which you could then use to your advantage when applying for your next position.

For additional CV advice, check out our resources here, here and here.

Author David Morel Tiger Recruitment Team