Is Your CV Singing and Dancing on Your Behalf?

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Catherine Adenle | Comments (3)

Written
by Catherine Adenle

If you are reading this article on my blog then, I must have your
attention. However, for how long do I have your attention though?
This is what happens when a hiring manager picks your CV up. Ask
yourself, how many times when reading online do you click on a link
navigating away from the text that was the original object of your
enquiry? Why do you find yourself doing that? Let’s me ask you
again, will you actually read this post, see how you can make your
CV sing and dance on your behalf, decide to click on another link,
check your Internet
or Outlook Inbox or skim to another article or blog? Well, you
better read this if you are passionate about your career, self
branding, in the process of revamping your CV or job seeking. Even
if you don’t belong to any of the named groups, I can bet that it
is probably time to revisit your ‘core CV’ and update it. Nowadays,
you never know when the next cut to overheads is going to be made
in your company. So, to help with making your CV noticeable, I ask
that you just stick with this article and see what the ‘WIIFM’ is.
Well, there may be nothing for you here if you own your own
company. If you are self-employed, you still have to be sure that
you can sell what you have to offer. Even then, you can still read
this article and leave a comment or share your own tip below. I am
sure that you agree with me that there is now more competition than
ever before to capture the attention of a potential employer or
capture any type of rewarding business lead. As a result,
individuals and businesses are searching for new and innovative
ways to connect with people. The job
search competition is unbelievably fierce; you can only
deny this if you are not from Planet Earth. Almost all the career
gurus are advising you to build your brand, get LinkedIn, be on Twitter,
Facebook, Blog,
tap into the hidden market out there or launch a strategic job
search campaign. Let’s face it, to do all of this; you still need a
PB (Personal Brochure – not BP, the oil folks) in place. This PB is
your own CV. The question is how do you ensure
that your CV stands out of the multitude of CV
in an electronic or physical paper pile? With so many qualified
professionals seeking employment,
it is not enough that you are competent, skillful, experienced or
smart. Your PB must be lean and mean; it has to levitate and do all
sorts of acrobatic manoeuvres in a simple way to make a memorable
impression. To put it straight, it must ‘wow’ your prospective
employers.
How?
1. It is important that you
prioritize important information. The
first page of your CV must carry your important information. As a
potential recruiter, if I have several CV to trawl through, why
should I turn the page of your drab CV? Trust me; I’ll drop it like
a bad potato. So, prioritize your content so that your most
important and relevant experience is listed first, with key
accomplishments listed at the top. Do not list important data in
the lower sections of your CV. Remember: as you compile your CV,
prioritize your information by order of importance and relevance to
the job. If you can write a targeted, concise, catchy and knock
them dead mission statement about yourself and the type of position
you seek at the top of your CV then, go for it. Ensure that it
stands out in a professional, no-nonsense way that shows you have
taken the time to perfect a powerful opening for your CV.
2. You better let it sing the right tune
to the right listeners. What’s your
best song (iTune) on your
iPod? Ok, now
imagine your CV singing that tune into your chilled ears. You’ll
probably call an exorcist if your CV should suddenly burst out
singing to you. However, my point here is, even if your personal
branding is flaming hot and on fire, but is not carefully aimed at
the right audience or is not ‘glowing or beaming’ the right
message, your hot personal brand means jack! So ensure that your CV
is well targeted at the company and role that you are applying for.
3. Look to
customize your CV for each job opening.
A word of caution here, don’t get too carried away.
When I say customize, I don’t mean that you should use a coloured
flowery paper with your text in different fonts and colours. To be
honest, if you are not customizing your CV to each job opening, you
are missing a great and perfect opportunity to ensure that your CV
will land in the hands of the right employer. Most CV are processed
by recruiting management software that helps employers find the
perfect candidates for their job openings. This means it is
fundamental that in todays job market that every CV includes
similar keywords that appear in targeted job descriptions. This
will increase your chances to get found by any highly compatible
company with an open position. Make sure that relevant keywords
reference specific job requirements. Mention specific skill sets, technology, software
competencies, relevant credentials and previous employers.
4. Mind the
Gaps. If you have any time gaps in your
employment, which is sometimes inevitable, you should find a way to
address them. Time gaps are often a concern by potential
recruiters. For all they know, that gap may mean you could be
anywhere doing anything during the time that might not be good for
their company’s image. If you list only years of employment to
cover up any employment gaps, such as 2008-2010, an intelligent
recruiting management system may flag this up. The truth is; you
may be better off explaining your employment gaps if there is no
other way to deal with a massive gap. You may put, ‘taking a year
off to travel with family’ alongside the relevant dates. The truth
is you would have gained some useful skills during the travels
which could help your hiring process.
5. Keep it clean and
simple. Use a simple CV format for all
of your online electronic CV submissions. When you design the
format, make sure that you keep the design simple, don’t go to
town, and unleash your inner design genius mojo onto your CV just
because you can! Leave an ample white space and no pictures unless
you are applying to be a graphic
designer, model actor or unless you have a new age jazzy
visual e-CV like the interactive generated ones on VisualCV. Use fonts like Arial or
Courier 12-point to ensure clarity and readability. Read through
and ask someone else to double-check that there are no errors or
bad grammar lurking anywhere on your CV. 6. Embrace the new way of doing things by
making the internet and web 2.0 tools your
friend. Just your solid CV alone may
not do the trick.

Embrace Web 2.0 and the Internet

You can use readily available online
visual CV tools to create an online CV that includes all the facets
of a traditional CV, with add-ons like video, images, and links to
your accomplishments Employers are now increasingly looking in many
different online places for pertinent skills, talent and that extra
factor. They are using network sites including Facebook,
MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter
and other social networking sites. If you are in the
market for a new job you should be using all of your online
profiles and visual CV to help position yourself as an ideal
candidate. As a jobseeker, you can follow these 150+ experts on Twitter.
In addition to sharing your visual CV with potential employers and
networking contacts, you can also link your visual CV to your LinkedIn profile – see the 5 ways you can find a job on
LinkedIn. Again, you can have your presentations on SlideShare to demonstrate your
knowledge or work. Be sure to make reference to previous employers,
job titles, dates of employment and responsibilities whenever
appropriate. Follow the right people and use LinkedIn new follow company
feature, let your connections know you are looking for a
new job. Important: make sure there is nothing on your public
profiles that you wouldn’t want a potential recruiter to come
across. Your picture on Facebook showing you falling out of a taxi
after a night of pub crawling is not a good one for a potential
employer to see. Your e-mail address which reads,
‘l.campbell@popbi**h.co.uk’ is not ideal or particularly funky on
your CV or your networking site. Get a free clean e-mail account
from GMail, MSN or Yahoo. Plus, you may also want to
see the 31 tasks that a jobseeker can do every
month. 7. Remember CV Do’s &
Don’ts. To conclude, this quick,
point-by-point guide will assist you in assessing your current CV
and remedy any common mistakes that are committed so that the CV
can sing and dance on your behalf.
DOs
 Do tell the truth – Inaccurate information can be easily
uncovered at any stage.  Do have your paper CV in Word and ensure
that reproduction (if printed) is of high a quality on a good white
paper and make it 2pp.  Do have a simple, clean and conventional
layout unless you are a designer – complex or highly stylised
layouts will distract the reader from the information you are
trying to present.  Do keep information concise, well captured and
accurate.  Do use ‘action’ or ‘power words’ where possible,
describing positive achievements and contributions but be sure to
demonstrate the words on your CV.

: Dos and
Donts

 Do always include a cover letter.  Do
attempt to seek a second opinion and advice where possible.  Do
customise your CV to target the job that you are applying for.  Do
read, read, read and spell-check! Do apply as soon as you become
aware of the position – getting in early never hurts.  Do use the
Internet and any readily available tools to let your CV standout!
Don’ts:
Don’t date your CV or title it ‘CV’.
Don’t exceed two pages and concisely present your information so
that it will be easier and quicker to digest. Don’t mention
salaries earned or required unless you are asked. Don’t include
information regarding sex, race, age, nationality, political and
religious affiliations. Don’t include a photograph, trust me, your
stunning good looks will not be an issue for selection. Don’t give
reasons for leaving previous positions, if they want to know, they
will ask at the interview. Don’t include anything negative when
writing about a previous employer or role. Keep it positive always.

Now that you have finished reading this article, I
hope that you truly realise that the requirements for CV formats
change over time just like any industry. The reason for this is to
keep up with the changing requirements of businesses. Most
businesses are using online tools to hire qualified professional.
It is important that your CV is singing the right song. No matter
the job you are in or looking for, these 7 helpful tips above
should help you to create a singing and dancing CV. Keen to hear
from you if you have other tips to add.

CVs:
How to sell yourself (mirror.co.uk)
How
to improve my CV (plentyonyourplate.com)
40
Stunningly Creative Resume Designs on DeviantArt
(1stwebdesigner.com)
Fatal
CV/Resume Flaws (biojobblog.com)

3 Comments »

I admire your style of writing because you say it as it is. You are direct, no mincing of words. I am now working on my resume to make it sing and dance:)
Comment by Raulph Jones — 2010-11-19 06:50:15

Like or dislike: 1 0
Great article, I'm looking in to using linkedin for job hunting now!
Comment by thills123 — 2010-10-01 10:23:39

Like or dislike: 2 0
Catherine, thank you for a timely post. It is becoming increasingly hard to get a job by purely relying on a basic CV. One has to go beyond that to get noticed. Sammy
Comment by Sammy — 2010-10-09 13:43:29

Like or dislike: 2 0