CVs are one of, if not the, most valuable tools job seekers have in their arsenal when it comes to seeking new challenges at alternate places of employment. But, with every other job seeker using the same tools, how can you gain an advantage over your competitors? Is there a way in which you can stand out among the piles of CVs employers and hiring managers have to sift through?
In this blog post, we will be looking at ways in which your curriculum vitae can assist in getting you to stand out from the crowd and, with a little luck, help land that dream job. Let’s have a look at some of the things job seekers can do in order to stand out from the competition, by creating a more bespoke CV.
Read Through the Job Description
In order to have a thorough understanding of what kind of CV is likely to make the best impression on an employer or hiring manager, make sure you read through the job description carefully. One of the functions of a job description is to explain to any potential employees what they will be doing in the role. If you’re planning on tailoring your curriculum vitae, job descriptions will assist in detailing what kind of CV tailoring may work best in order to tighten your chances of application success.
Keywords
Inserting keywords into your CV’s summary is a good way of highlighting your best achievements and the skills you have that you feel would best compliment the role you are applying for. This is
not to say that you should litter your CV with jargon and false terminology, however, strategic placement of relevant skills and accomplishments will enable hiring managers to quickly spot the skills they require from you.
Tailoring Your CV
Tailoring your CV to suit your employer and the role you are chasing is something anyone currently looking for a new challenge can do. If, for example, you find yourself applying for a role in graphic or digital design, it may be that using your CV to show off your design skills could help elevate you above the rest of the applicants who may not have gone to such efforts. Showing potential employers that you’re willing to put in the extra thought and effort into your application demonstrates the kind of attitude you may bring to the company.
Check It Over
This may be the most important part of the application process. Checking over your CV before you send it in to any employer is essential as poor spelling, grammar or punctuation will almost always result in your CV being discarded by whomever is going through it. Overly complicated CVs are also likely to be put aside as employers and hiring managers will not spend more time than they feel necessary looking for the information they require before giving up and moving on to the next application. It is always worth checking over your CV several times so as to catch any potential typos or mistakes you may have missed on previous searches.
There are a variety of things job seekers can do in order to stand out from the competition, what are you doing?