So, you’ve been sending your CV and either don’t hear back, or get instantly rejected. Well fear not, here are 5 quick and easy things on how to write a CV for a job application that could make a big difference.
Your CV was not attached
1-2-3, and breathe. We get so many applications every day, make sure your CV is attached to your email.
If it isn’t, I guarantee you that 90% of recruitment agencies will either ignore or reject you based solely on that. It shows you lack attention to detail, they will not take the time to remind you. We’re only human, we all make mistakes – so if you did accidentally hit ‘send’ and didn’t attach, simply send a follow up with a ‘sorry, here is my CV’. Simple!
What job do you want?
There is no explanation, no summary about you and the jobs you’ve had are so diverse we don’t know exactly what it is you’re looking for. A good recruiter will see the potential in your career history and give you a call to ask. But they don’t have a crystal ball.
Give us a bit of help, tell us what role you’re applying for or what you’re looking for.
Don’t send it as a PDF
I know people think we just send your CV over and the interview happens, but it doesn’t. Let me tell you a secret.
We’ll put your CV into what we call a ‘profile’. It’s a little snapshot of you, made by us. It will have a summary – just like yours but written by us to sell you to our client. We edit the format of pretty much every CV – so the client doesn’t have the same headache as we do ploughing through Comic Sans PDFs with everything underlined in pink.
It’s also easier for you, you only need one version, and you can edit it in a second. And, it’s much more straight forward for us to add in your details. Simples!
Layout is shocking
Keep. It. Simple. – I can’t stress this enough.
We do not need to see your ClipArt design skills and choosing the prettiest font will not win you any bonus points.
Font – Calibri, Arial etc.
Paragraphs – Short and to the point. Don’t use fluffy words to pad it out, we’re not testing your abilities as a thesaurus
Headers – Bold only. Stop using every formatting option possible, it makes for hard reading.
Bullet Points – See above re ClipArt, just make them circles, or dashes
Colours – Keep it black
USE SPELL CHECK! There is no excuse for errors these days. Hit spell check when you are done, get someone to read over it. It’s also ironic to see when you’re telling us how good your attention to detail or work accuracy is.
It sounds like it came from a Google search
Don’t copy someone else’s CV. It won’t sound genuine, and it won’t make you stand out. Your summary, is a chance to stand out – USE IT. Put it at the top and make it first thing we see. Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear. Cultural fit is so important these days – let your personality show. Employers are buying into you, not just the black and white bullet points.
Please see our live roles at http://www.novatasrecruitment.co.uk/jobs-listing/ and hopefully our ‘how to write a CV for a job application’ tips will bring you success in the future roles you apply for. Good Luck!
