Please send me your CV for this vacancy and I will review it?

Dreaded words, right? The CV is a questionable tool and something that I have been in discussions about for many years, what is a good CV, what is a bad CV? The CV is something that everyone has different thoughts on including how it should look, how many pages it should be etc etc.

Years gone by before we received online applications I remember when we would receive candidate CVs through the post and the way we perceived them was completely different. You would be trying to understand more about the person based on the layout, the type of paper and their handwriting.

Now you only have a few seconds to give a good first impression with how your CV is perceived online, so how do you paint a picture for the hiring manager to gain a better understanding of you?

CVs and interviews I go by the same principle your job as a candidate throughout the process is to paint a picture to the hiring manager. Never assume they will know what your roles have involved or why you have left positions and your job is to paint a full picture to give them a further understanding on your experience and career history and the reason you have made certain career choices.

It goes without saying if you can send a tailored cover letter DO IT! The market is more competitive than it has ever been, and you want to make the effort to show your potential future employer how eager you are on that opportunity even if it is a temporary or contract role! Any applications I always advise to send a cover letter!

The CV, I have based my tips below on questions that I have been asked over the 16 years from clients once we have submitted a CV, so here goes:

• Keep all your text in the same format and only have headings in a larger size
• Profile a lovely, short and sweet introduction at the top of your CV below your contact information introducing yourself, what you are looking for and even a few bullet points of key skills to set the scene on you and what you will bring to them and the opportunity available
• Most recent employment at the top
• Dates and years ensure they are accurate and correct(I had a CV last week that had the year 2024?!?! Not a good look)
• If you have finished a role and your CV states, you are still in that employment UPDATE IT!
• Gaps – cover them in your CV and say what you have been doing. For example: travelling, maternity leave, caring for a family member, took time out
• Reasons for leaving – pop them in at the end of each job, it could be you have conducted a variety of temporary roles and a hiring manager may not know this and assume you get bored easily and jump from job to job? For permanent roles this can be seen as a negative NEVER ASSUME THEY WILL KNOW THIS
• Duties and responsibilities employers do not want to see paragraphs and essays be specific bullet point them. Never ASSUME(yes I keep saying this) that an employer will know what your roles have involved all companies are different pop them all down even the little details
• Interests, unless it is relevant to the vacancy you are applying take them out no one reads them! The most common interests are: reading, walking, fitness and cooking and when you are reading over 100 CVs per day it becomes mundane
• Education at the back, unless you are applying for a vacancy that requires qualifications for example: Accountant, HR Manager, Finance Director and for education that you feel like me is not relevant take the years out but have all the details in including: high school, subjects etc never leave it blank.

Phew, I could talk about this subject for hours and hours on end and while writing this there are many more tips I have swirling about!

I hope this helps and for further details about interviews, cover letters and being job market ready pop on over to our Facebook or LinkedIn pages to read our blogs.

For further information on Valeco Recruitment visit our website www.valeco.co.uk or contact our team on enquiries@valeco.co.uk