In the job market today, each advertised job vacancy receive 100s of applications.
Getting your CV right is therefore one of the most critical component of your whole job search campaign - if it doesn’t stand out and make employers want to meet you, then you won’t get any interview, meaning no job. So, before you do anything else, you must ensure that your CV is as good as it possibly can be.

In this thread, I will be posting relevant questions that need to be addressed effectively on your CV before you apply for any job. I will also state how(solutions) you can significantly improve it to reduce the number of rejection letters you get and increase the number of interview invitations.

#Staytuned

Question 1: Is your CV directly aimed at the jobs / industry sectors you are aiming for?

Solution: Your CV need to be targeted at the job you are aiming at. This will increase your chances of being considered as a serious candidate. You don’t want an employer thinking that you are sending your CV off in an attempt to get just any old job. You want an employer to think that you have specifically selected them (even if you haven’t). If you are aiming at several different jobs / sectors, you should produce different CVs.
Ideally, you should tailor your CV for each specific vacancy that you are applying for. This will cut the number of rejection letters you receive and possibly double or triple your chances of being selected for an interview.
Make sure that all the skills, experience/achievements that you include on each CV are all completely relevant to the job that you are applying for.

Question 2: How many pages is your CV?

Solution: Your CV shouldn't be too long. Most employers and recruiters favour a two-page CV. Typically, your CV has to be able to make an impact in just 20 to 30 seconds! Employers don’t want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they want to interview you or not.

*grabs popcorn, sits on the front row of a prospective front page material *

Ride on

Question 3: Is the information in your CV clearly organised and presented?

Solution: You need to be 100% certain that the information in your CV is well-organised and presented. If an employer finds it hard to read through your CV then they won’t be able to build up a good picture of you quickly. Remember they won’t spend very long looking at your CV, so if they can’t find what they want very quickly, they won’t bother to read any further and your CV will be discarded.

Ask friends and colleagues, and preferably CV writers, whether they think the information on your CV is clearly set out and well organized. This is not something that you can really judge for yourself, because what you think of as a good layout and well-organized may look disorganized to other people.

Question 4: How do you update your CV?

Solution: If you just add your most recent job(s) and do not change anything else, your CV may gradually become less and less relevant to the positions that you are now aiming for. This is because your aims will change over time and your CV needs to reflect this. The less relevant a CV seems to an employer, the more chance there is that they will discard it.

Always check and update each section of your CV, ensuring that you have clearly identified the skills, experience/achievements, qualifications, etc, that are most relevant to the jobs that you are applying for.

Question 5: Do you have a Profile

Solution: Your CV should grab an employer’s attention easily – a short profile / summary can help you achieve this and make an employer really want to invite you for that all-important interview. Not including a Profile means that you’ve lost an opportunity to engage with an employer.

Add a short profile at the beginning of your CV, about four to eight lines of text. Think about any key strengths, talents, skills and experience you possess that are relevant to the jobs you’re applying to. This is a very difficult section to write and it can help to discuss this with a friend, colleague, relative, recruitment consultant, employer or experienced CV writer to achieve a great result.


#HappySunday

Question 6: Does the profile clearly sell your strengths, talents, skills and experience?

Solution: The Profile is your introduction to an employer. It must therefore sell you and your abilities to an employer and make them want to interview you. If the employer just says, "So what?" after reading your Profile, then you are in trouble - if they don’t like your introduction you have already placed a doubt in their mind before they read the rest of your CV.

Try and think about any key strengths, talents, skills and experience you possess that are relevant to the jobs you’re applying to. This is a very difficult section to write and it can help to discuss this with a friend, colleague, relative, recruitment consultant, employer or CV service (if you are thinking about paying for your CV).

Question 7: In your Employment section, what have you included, in addition to your job title, the employer’s name and inclusive dates of employment?


Solution: Listing no more than the barest facts about who the employer was and how long you worked for them really isn’t enough. You need to include more information about your skills, experience and achievements, so that an employer can build up a picture of your capabilities. They will then weigh this up against other candidates when they decide who they want to interview.

You should think about each job you have had, in terms of your responsibilities, the skills you have demonstrated, the experience you have gained and the achievements you have had.

Ok na

Question 8: Do you know exactly what skills an employer is searching for when they look at your CV?

Solution: You need to find out exactly what skills an employer is looking for, because you need to clearly demonstrate that you meet the criteria for the job, otherwise an employer will just reject your CV.