How can a great CV get you a job?

Your CV, Your Future : (Free CV critique)

If you are job hunting, by now you probably know how important your CV is! Although we have job sites like Bayt, GulfTalent, LinkedIn and the rest, in this region, your physical CV is very important tool to your job application process. You might also know that you have approximately 20 seconds to grab attention of a recruiter who is scanning through your CV for potential short listing. At this time, it is evermore important that you help the recruiter select your CV as a shortlist.

Your CV or Resume is your personal marketing tool by which you try to sell your skills, expertise and knowledge. You should not leave any stone unturned for getting the best CV ever. Yet, most of you just do a mediocre job at getting that killer CV!

Why CV matters?

By not having a CV that is written greatly, you could lose the following:

-A great job;
-A great future;
-A well paying job: think of what an extra 10000 or 20000 per year would do for you!;
-A good company to work for; and numerous other amenities…..

…..just because you did not care to give your CV a second thought!!

So what matters here for your CV?

The way your CV is written and formatted is of paramount importance. I am sure, when looking for a job, your first step is to make sure that you have an appropriately written and formatted CV / Resume. It is of paramount importance that your CV is written with care and is devoid of grammatical and factual errors. A serious recruiter would frown upon on a grammatical error and is a complete NO NO….!

How long should your CV be?

This is a question that has been bugging many. But in my opinion your CV should not be more than 2 pages in length even if you have 30 years of experience. A fresher can have a single page resume.

What should be covered in your Resume or CV?

The job of the CV is to make sure that your put your Achievements and Expertise across to the recruiter. I have received thousands of CV over the year and most of them do not follow a specific format or style that really attracts the reader.

The way you do it is by properly formatting the CV in sections into 4 main categories:

-Intro
-Core Competencies
-Experience and Achievements
-Education, Professional Development & Membership

As a case study I would like to show you a sample of a CV that was transformed by CV Now, a professional CV writing agency:

Original CV written by the Candidate

[gview file=”http://eddl.s3.amazonaws.com/Client.CV.before.pdf” width=”100%” save=”0″]

CV transformed by CV Now? 

[gview file=”http://eddl.s3.amazonaws.com/Client.CV.after.pdf” width=”100%” save=”0″]

How CV Now transformed the CV?

To make the CV look more professional like the second, CV Now did the following:

-This client’s initial CV spanned six pages and contained information generally not required on current CVs. The writer had made multiple changes to streamline the new CV into a two-page format, which is a typical length for a candidate with this volume of experience;

-The original CV includes personal data not relevant for job hunting and was removed in the final version;

-The original CV includes a first person narrative for the introduction. The revised CV trimmed down the information, removed the first person format, and included only the details pertinent to applying for finance positions and also removed redundant information that would appear later in the CV;

-The personal strengths and developed skills in the original CV was revised to a core competencies section that highlighted keywords and key phrases designed to increase hits in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS);

-Educational information was moved to the last section of the new CV and reformatted for easier reading;

-The summary of employment section is redundant and was removed in the new CV;

-Standard CV convention recommends limiting bullet points to 3 – 6, depending on length of time at a position. Bullets provide a good way to highlight more quantifiable achievements. The new CV features a combo paragraph/bullet format, where the paragraph contains more general information and the bullets call attention to quantifiable accomplishments;

-Removed the references section in the new CV. Most hiring managers will provide information about how they prefer references once they’ve contacted a candidate to set up an interview;

-Added a header to the second page of the new CV that included the client’s name and page number.

So here you see how the CV has been transformed. You’d definitely agree with me that the updated CV by CV Now is likely to grab the attention of the recruiter than the CV written by the candidate.

You would definitely agree with me that the second CV is far better than the first one and would instantly grab the attention of the recruiter or whoever reads the CV. Now, you may have realised how important a CV is for your job application and the role it plays in the recruitment process.

Get a Free CV critique which I have arranged with CV Now for your CV.
The initial critique is of course free, but if you would like them to write your CV, you will be charged.

However, I can say that it will be worth it. Get your CV done by professionals.