The start of a New Year is a great time to make changes, be that joining a Gym (this definitely won’t be me), saving to travel or finding an exciting new job and your next career opportunity!
With a new decade motivating people to make the next step in their career and fulfil a New Year resolutions, there’s also a real peak in recruitment throughout January. Many companies are beginning a new financial year, refreshing their budget to focus on new ideas and projects which means they will be looking for new talent to join them to continue their development & growth for the upcoming year.
NOW is time to make that New Year change a reality & to help ensure your CV stands out amongst other applicants, here’s my top tips!
Work Experience
Make sure this is in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position. Include the month and the year you started and left your role.
Under the company you have worked for, add a short synopsis to provide context about where you worked. Include the industry, head count, turnover, your team or department & who you report to.
Bullet point your responsibilities, remember not to copy it from the job description though! Describe what you do using active language and give real examples with figures where applicable to strengthen your achievements.
Key projects & notable achievements
This is one of the most crucial parts of your CV & highlights to future employers the value you will bring to their organisation. It shows your commitment to go above & beyond every day responsibilities.
Key projects you’ve worked on or achievements can be easily formatted using the STAR framework.
This is hugely beneficial for recruiters & employers alike to easily understand the project, your responsibilities, the outcome & most importantly how & where you added value. Aim to include as many key facts & figures as possible, within Human Resources this could include how you impacted on reducing agency spend by £5,000, on boarded10 new starters per week, reduced time to hire from 4 weeks to 3 weeks or reduced absence by 10%.
Hobbies and Interests
This is a must & will bring who you are as a person to life!
Aligning similar interests with the person reading your CV will elevate you above other candidates!
Make it interesting, don’t use the normal “likes socialising with friends and family and keeping active”. Tell people who you are, what you like to do, what you are passionate about... eg. I love baking, brownies are my speciality & I would love to be on GBBO one day!
Common errors
If you are going to include a personal profile on your front page, make sure it focuses on your key strengths, career goals & achievements.
ALWAYS spell check your CV. Either ask someone to read through it or read it out loud – this is a great tip to spot any grammatical errors.
You don’t need to include personal details such as nationality, marital status, date of birth & a headshot photo.
It’s a really good idea to have a link to your LinkedIn profile on your CV. Make sure it’s up to date though!
You don’t need to include references, you’ll be asked for this when needed.
Don’t be afraid of your CV being more than two pages, as long as it is all relevant information for the job & career you are looking for.
Make 2020 the start of an amazing career. Focus on where you want to go & what you want to achieve.
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