Substance over style
Your CV is the one thing that sets you apart from your rivals.
It is vital to write right.
Karen Hainsworth

YOU might think a CV is just a sales document that needs a tweak once in a while, when you’ve gained experience or want a new job. But recruiters’ needs are changing — and unless you keep up with the latest CV fashions, you’re unlikely to get on the list of candidates invited to interview.

One of the biggest changes in the past few years has been in the profile: the snappy paragraph at the top of the first sheet that hopes to draw readers in with descriptions of your multitasking and team skills. Although this might have looked interesting once, in today’s market it merely looks outdated.

"Don’t bother saying, ‘I’m a hardworking team player who is also capable of working on my own,’" says Dev Majithia, manager of investment management and hedge-fund recruitment at the agency Joslin Rowe. "Those kind of personal statements are meaningless. We’re looking for hard evidence as opposed to someone who can write about themselves."

And, though a statement in the third person looks less fluffy, he tends to condemn such summaries as empty waffle. "It’s better to highlight achievements that are real and tangible. Put simply, our clients want to know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it."

Hard-nosed CVs aren’t the sole preserve of the finance sector, however. Bill Davies, business psychologist with the occupational psychologists JCA, not only helps clients to write CVs but also assists recruiters in their selection processes. He says that science, engineering and IT also look for more factual CVs - simply tell them what you do and how long you’ve done it, and offer a unique selling point among your skills and achievements.

New graduates will have a harder time listing their achievements, as they probably don’t have that much substantial experience. But you will stand out if you’ve used your skills productively: many graduates have experience of Excel, say, and if you can say that you have written a macro in an Excel spreadsheet that saved time and money, you would stand out from the majority of candidates.

If you’re aiming for a job in a more people-oriented sector, however, you can afford to be a bit more creative. "If you want a role in marketing, for example, or certain aspects of the media, then you can create more of a vibrant CV and people will be used to somebody putting themselves across with more prose and more aesthetic appeal," Davies says.

But don’t go wild — some companies like to portray themselves as fresh and entrepreneurial, but few organisations are novelty-driven in the serious area of recruitment. "I’ve known somebody send a CV in a hat box in the fashion sector. It was not received well," Davies says. "And another candidate sent a CV that had to be unfolded like origami. It raised more mirth than interest." There is a limit to creativity.

An unfortunate and increasing trend is CVs that have been produced using CV software templates, says Daniel Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, UK. "They’re easy to create, but many templates restrict the amount of information you can put in them. And many people use them, so it reduces your chance of standing out. And writing a CV by numbers also shows an absence of initiative."

If you’re a creative techie, the internet is an ideal place to sell yourself. "Placing a CV on the web demonstrates real technical ability," Hawes says. "But only a few experienced people are doing this, particularly IT specialists involved in designing websites." Online CVs provide the space for different media, and some creatives have produced a 30-second visual presentation of the candidate explaining their skills and qualities and why they are best for the job. "It adds another dimension and really brings a person to life," Hawes says, but for the inexperienced he wouldn’t recommend it. "There could be problems tailoring your details to the needs of the company, and unless you were really good and could quickly knock one up, it’s not practical."

Bearing in mind that you have only 15 to 30 seconds to interest a recruiter in your CV, anything that makes you shine will help your cause. "One thing that people are starting to do is to write a personal career objective: three or four sentences about what you want to do and why. But a lot of other candidates will be doing this, so you have to be very specific. It’s like an advertisement in a newspaper or a headline that draws you in."

Hawes suggests passing your CV around to a few people for an appraisal, to see whether you’ve hit the mark. "Snatch it back after 30 seconds and ask your friends what they remembered. If it’s the best bits, you’ve got it right. If not, go back to the drawing board."

Your strongest assets as a fresh graduate are your academic qualifications and your work experience. "A lot of graduates don’t have amazing work experience, but they can still draw out their transferable skills. If they can’t find anything they’re not thinking hard enough," Hawes says.

And if you haven’t worked? Hopefully, you will have gained experience in your hobbies. One activity that is appealing to employers is voluntary or charity work. "It shows that you are passionate about something that is outside of work, and that you have dedication. Employers do value time out because it is useful to development."

So, whether you are a fresh graduate or on to your third job, it pays to find out what employers want in terms of skills and qualities and how to present it. Davies says. "Get it right and you make it easy for the recruiters to say, ‘Yes, I have to see this person.’"

Ensure the details are correct. Make sure that you check and recheck for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Ensure that your contact details are clearly printed on your first page.

A lot of recruiters ask candidates to send in online application forms, but this is mainly done by the bigger city-based and international firms who have the resources to handle the response. A written CV is still a useful document for smaller companies. It also helps to build your confidence and to bring into sharper focus the things you have actually achieved.

A disjointed history raises a big question mark. Remember to fill in the gaps with information on how you were gaining new knowledge or developing useful skills.

If an advert says, "Don’t send a CV," they mean it. Many candidates ignore this and their CVs are binned. Follow application rules closely.

Always tailor your CV to the recruiter or organisation you are sending it to. Understand the market place and the language it uses. Do your research by looking at a company’s website, brochures and newspapers.