It's your CV doing its job properly?

Ask any job hunter what makes them feel good and they'll all say being offered the job! Achieving this isn't always that easy. Securing a job depends upon the power of your CV. Most job hunters let themselves down when it comes to CVs. They use woolly words such as involved with, they list their duties, which anyone can do and they fail to talk about how they can make a difference to the organization. In short, they don't invest in their CV. And if you were the recruiter what would this tell you about the candidate? In addition, candidates use the same format, style and tone of CV for years. While it may have won them an interview a few years ago it is no longer being as effective in the current job market. The crucial test is what employers think about your CV. If you are not selected for interview on the basis of your CV it is tempting to make up your own explanations. Do you put it down to your age, marital status, education work experience, job title, salary, race, sex or current company? Are these the real reasons? Probably not. It is true that these factors may play a part but the answer is usually much deeper than this. Anyone, whatever their ability can project themselves in a positive honest way that will win them work. The secret is knowing how to sell yourself and convince the employer that you should be invited to attend an interview. A quick CV check list - Your CV needs to: 1. Be targeted towards the job in question. Tailor the CV to position on offer. Throw out a general all purpose CV. 2. Show you are capable of doing the job. Demonstrate briefly and quickly your skills and capabilities. The employer doesn't want to plough through realms of paper in order to answer the question 'can this person to the job?' 3. Show you have a personality. Convey what sort of person you are. 4. Reflect your attitude. Keep the tone on a straightforward, positive and businesslike level 5. Be brief and to the point - only include relevant information. Your spouse's name does not reflect your ability to do the job. Keep personal details to a minimum. Never express in ten words what can be said in four. 6. Demonstrate that you believe in yourself. Advertise yourself -- the whole person -- rather than giving lots of long and boring lists of information. 7. Focus on the employer not on you. Demonstrate your value and don't waffle about yourself. A good CV is worth its weight in gold. It will deliver results and help you advance your career. It is one that is effective, solid and balanced in all areas. Most CVs don't fall into this category. If your CV isn't selling you to the full then find out how it can be improved. Recent statistics from Career Consultants On-Line Ltd show that the average CV manages to score just 38% in the CV Assessment Test, confirming that the majority of CV's are poor to average. Remember the CV is the one aspect of the job hunt over which you have complete control. Send your CV to the career experts and discover why your CV might be letting you down. Source: http://www.jobsite.co.uk/articles/candidate/c1/s11/a1701.html

Why are CVs rejected?

First impressions First impressions matter; if your CV does not attract the reader's attention in the first 20-30 seconds then your chances of obtaining an interview are greatly reduced. An employer may have a hundred or more CVs to look through and probably only a couple of hours in which to make their selection. So put your work experience at the start of your CV, not personal or educational details, unless you have only just left education. What an employer really wants to know is why they should invite you for an interview. For this reason a short summary of your capabilities and/or a list of your major achievements can often be a good idea. This should make an employer want to invite you for an interview - but please be careful that you do not oversell yourself. Poor visual layout The visual layout of your CV is very important. Even though the wording you use may be correct,if people cannot find the information they want quickly they will move on to someone else's CV. You should use plenty of 'white' space in your CV and appropriate headings and section breaks. Always use a word-processor/DTP package. Never use a typewriter as you will look old fashioned and out of date. Use good quality A4 paper, preferably 100gram for both your CV and cover letter. Length of CV It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two pages of A4, unless someone specifically asks you for a longer CV. If you cannot keep your CV to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not. Organising the information on your CV If your CV is not well organised then the reader will find it hard to follow and will not be able to build up a picture of you quickly. Remember the reader will not spend very long looking at your CV - so if they cannot find what they want they will not bother to read any further. Overwritten - long paragraphs and sentences This makes it difficult to read quickly - try and keep your sentences short and punchy and use bullet points to break up the text under section headings. Too little information A lot of people do not include enough details about their previous jobs and experience and an employer therefore does not have enough information - they will therefore have to reject your application. Not results orientated You need to shout about your achievements. Please remember that your CV is your sales document to an employer. If it does not tell an employer why they should employ you then it has failed. An employer will only want to employ you if they can see a benefit in it for themselves. So do tell them the benefits of employing you. CV makes you look too young/old for the job In general being too young/old can be a real problem and a barrier to future advancement, or even to getting a job in the first place. There are a number of ways round this problem - but this depends very much on your individual circumstances and the industry/job you are applying for. There are further hints and tips throughout this website to help you. Mis-spellings, typographical errors, poor grammar Your CV should be carefully checked for such errors before you send it out to employers. Tiny errors in your CV can detract from an otherwise good CV and make you look lazy or careless - not the sort of qualities you want to portray to an employer. As you will probably be 'blind' to these errors you should get someone else to check your CV for grammar and spelling errors.