You'll have to ensure your CV is in good shape if you want to get your CV noticed online this summer.
For a start, latest research reveals that recruiters spend just six seconds looking at a job hunter's CV. In addition, you'll be up against more competition this summer as brand new graduates are about to hit the market.
But don't work up a panicked sweat just yet take a look at the following four tips and you'll be capturing recruiters' attention before you can say heatwave.
Keep your CV easy to read
Make your CV easy to read and you'll instantly stand miles above the competition.
Put yourself in the mind of a recruiter for a minute. If you were faced with reading a two-page CV stuffed with chunky paragraphs, and two-page CV with clear headings and short bullet points which one would you prefer reading?
The latter example is by far the easiest CV format to read, especially online. Therefore, if you ensure your CV is no longer than two pages, broken down into bitesize chunks through headings and bullet points, a recruiter is more likely to pick out yours from the pack.
Let the job description anchor your CV
If you really want your CV to get noticed online, you've got to make sure your CV is tailored to the job description. This will ensure that the most relevant information is highlighted in your application, proving you're the best match.
In order to tailor your CV, you need make sure the keywords in the job description anchor it. Let's say the job requires someone with excellent verbal and written communication skills and you obtained these through your latest waitressing role; you should ensure your CV discusses this in detail as its relevant experience.
Tailoring also means cutting the irrelevant information from your CV. Therefore, if you have some skills that aren't mentioned in the job description, you should consider removing them from your CV and using the valuable space to build on the skills that are mentioned.
Be careful with this one though - you don't want to cut too much, such as years' worth of experience, or your CV will end up looking weaker than when you started.
Support your duties and responsibilities with specifics
Your CV will be so much stronger if you show potential employers what you've achieved, rather than just your duties. Therefore, when explaining you responsibilities in employment, make sure you're including your growth and successes, too.
For example, you might have served customers at a checkout, but you might have also served customers at a checkout with an average scan rate of 30 items per minute. Alternatively, you may have waited tables, but if you did that, you may also have waited tables for up to 100 people in one evening.
These added details show so much more about your experience, your achievements, and most importantly, your capabilities for future employers and you're sure to capture recruiters' attention by including them on your CV.
Consider adding a Key Skills section
If you've got a lot of skills under your belt and a lengthy employment history, you might consider adding a key skills or key achievements section to the top of your CV. This ensures that your most outstanding qualities and relevant experiences are the first to be read.
This section should sit just below your name and contact details and shouldn't be overly long, perhaps around four bullet points. You should include your most notable achievements that will make you stand out from the competition. Don't forget to keep them relevant to the job description, too.
Try not to repeat these bullets later on in your CV if possible. If you do, keep them brief and rephrase them after impressing the recruiter with your achievements, you don't want them to think you're so lazy you can only be bothered to copy and paste.
You should now be ready to start crafting your CV for applications. Just remember to keep these four tricks in mind while you're writing, and your CV will be noticed online in no time.
About the author: Laura Slingo is Digital Copywriter for the UKs leading job board, CV-Library.
