Writing your CV...

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Your CV is your marketing tool, it showcases your skills, your knowledge, your technical competence and outlines your achievements you are most proud of.  

 

It should be unique to you and is designed as a taster, an engaging document that leaves the reader wanting to meet you and therefore meetings or interview emerge.  

 

It  needs to outline what you have to offer, clarifies your offer and focuses on your unique selling point, it needs to suit your chosen market and match the requirements of the job you are applying for.  Finally it will will also prepare you for meetings with headhunters and recruiters and prepares you for interview.

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A CV should be:

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• Written in the past tense.

 

• Each achievement should paint a picture:

 

• What were you doing?

• Why were you doing it?

• What was the outcome?

• Ask yourself so what?  So what did you leave behind in the organisation?  This should be quantified using numbers, values and volumes.

 

• Maximum three pages long, you’re selling yourself to a reader for the first time, your language presents the person you are, your CV should be:

 

• Easy to read

• Eye catching

• Well laid out

• Original / interesting

• Matching the advertisement requirement

• Relevant

• Factual and believable

• Punchy

• Aligned to the requirements of the organisation/job vacancy.

 

Preparation is critical - begin with 10 or so achievements from your whole career that you are really proud of, your big moments and craft into an achievement which gives the what/ why benefit, and include where possible the outcome……so what.  Wordsmith the achievement so that it ends up being short, succinct, punchy and to the point.

 

There are two types of CV:

 

• Reverse chronological CV - takes the reader through your career history and from your current to your last role last and should include:

 

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• Profile

  • This is your brand, your positioning to the reader of your specialisms and the focus of what you have achieved and how you went about it.

 

• Organisation

  • Describe the organisation you are working for, e.g. number of employees, annual turnover, sector etc.

 

• Role Title and timeframe

  • Purpose of the role, e.g. number of people in your team, the budget you were responsible for etc.

 

• Career achievements

 

• Begin with a verb in the past tense.

 

• Describe what you are doing and why are you are doing it along with the output.

 

• The resulting output - the “so what” e.g. what was left behind in the organisation, this should be described and enhanced using numbers, values, and volumes.  If a tangible output is not left behind, the achievement is not an achievement for CV purposes.

 

• Continuing personal development.

 

• Qualifications.

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Functional CV

 

Builds on your key competencies and should be used if you’re applying for a new sector or to go down a new or different career pathway.  It describes your skills and achievements under specific headings.  It emphasises your transferable skills and does not rely on jobs to emphasise this.  You are selling your skills and achievements through the “What, Why Benefit”.