You know what it’s like to job hunt. It’s one of the most frustrating things to have to do, and yet we all have to do it at some stage. If you’ve seen the advertisement for your dream job, however, the best thing that you can do is to construct a perfect CV. The problem? The last time you updated your CV was a couple of years ago. You need your CV to wow the recruiter, which means you need to understand how to construct a good CV – no, how to construct a great CV!
The job market is tough enough and you need to make sure that whichever recruitment team you are dealing with – whether that be in finance, accountancy practices, insolvency, HR or more – your CV has to stand out. Jobseekers everywhere often scratch their heads about how to create a CV that’s going to make a difference compared to all the other applicants. We won’t lie to you, your CV is going to be in a pile of others because the job market is tough. You have to be the best of the best and with these tips you can construct a great CV so that you can get noticed.
Make An Instant Impression – Add A Cover Letter
Before you can really start to write your CV, you need a cover letter. This cover letter cannot be generic! For every single job that you applied for, you need a cover letter to match. It should be relevant to the job advertisement you’re applying to, and it should be filled with keywords that jump out from the same advert.
Consider Length
Once you have your cover letter sorted, you can get started on your CV. Recruitment agents with experience will be looking at your CV for about 30 seconds before they decide whether to discard your application or continue with it. That’s not a lot of time to make the right impression, so you need to have a CV that is the right length. You need to try to keep your information on your CV to 2 pages and no more. You need this to be a snapshot of your experience and your education.
How Do You Fit?
The next thing to consider is how you are able to fulfil the duties of the job. If you know that your experience recently matches the job description for the job you are applying for, make sure that your recent experiences are at the top of your CV. Experience should always come after a very short 2 to 3 sentence introduction about you, and your contact information should also be above that. The recruiter has to see that you can fit the job that you’re applying for so experience is important. If your company name and your date of service are at the top of your CV, recruiters can spot that your experience is recent and relevant.
Tailor It
As with your cover letter, your CV should not be generic. For every job you apply for, tweak your CV with the right keywords and information to match the job description of the job of which you are applying. This is so important to make sure that you are going to be the candidate that stands out. Tailor your CV with your experience and your education, and you will be able to get that dream job.