Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes.
You are sitting with a pile of CVs to wade through, 95 applications to reduce to a short list of six. What will catch your eye? What will go in the ‘Yes’ pile? What will go in the bin?
Here are some key questions for you to put to yourself:
How clear, professional and appropriate is the layout?
- Is the print large enough to read, or do you have to squint?
- Are there clear paragraphs separating different jobs and roles?
- Are headings in bold?
- Is there consistency of font and print size?
- Is there plenty of white space to make the text easy to read instead of dense blocks of text?
- Is the spelling correct? Is the grammar correct? If you have any doubts, will you ask someone to read it over for you?
- Overall is the layout interesting and easy on the eye, such as with centred text and bullet points?
- What impression does it give of the applicant, their precision, their care, attention and confidence? Do they appear technical or creative?
- Does the presentation fit with the values and branding of the company – does it call for a conservative approach or a creative style, with colours, images & dramatic fonts? Do they require a photo? Is it relevant to include one?
- Is it succinct? Two pages are likely to be sufficient unless applying for a senior position
First impressions count and how you present in writing will signify to the organisation how you are likely to present in person as well as your approach towards work.
I hope you find these tips helpful. There is more information on my CV writing page and I often talk about CVs and interviews on Twitter.
Next month, read the last in my current blog series about CVs, all about CV content.
