IPEJobs have teamed up with Pro-Serve The CV Writing Specialists to offer you some valuable CV advice to help you win more interviews and secure the job you deserve.

Your CV is one of the most important documents you will need throughout your career. If it is too long, lacks impact or generally very plain, it is unlikely to stand out amongst the competition. According to recent research, recruiters receive on average approximately 200 applications per job and in reality, your CV will generally have between 30-60 seconds to make an impact.

So, how do you ensure your CV is at the top of the pile?

A clear, well laid out CV certainly has advantages over a scruffy and lengthy document. The issues you will face are what to leave in and what to take out in order to create the impact that is required whilst still getting the breadth and depth of experience across to the reader. Not only that, your CV has to appeal to a wide and varied audience ranging from a junior recruitment consultant to possibly a CEO.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Does my CV inspire the reader to contact me for more information and invite me to the interview, or is it boring to read?
   
2. Will someone scanning this CV be able to easily extract the relevant information relating to the role I am applying for?
   
3. Are the skills that I have to offer highlighted enough in the CV and are they easy to pinpoint?
   
4. Have I included too much detail which could close doors rather than open them?
   
5. Will recruitment consultants and HR personnel understand what I do and how I meet their job requirements?
   
6. When I am at the interview, will my CV prompt the interviewer to ask me the right questions which will allow me to further ‘sell’ my relevant skills.
   
7. Ultimately, will my CV generate interviews for jobs I know I can do and help me get through the interview stage?

CV Tips

1. Ensure your contact details are on the first page at the top and at the bottom on any subsequent pages. The pages could become separated and this can be very frustrating. Don’t forget to include a sensible e-mail address.
   
2. Don’t use unnecessary words. A long, drawn out sentence may make you look inefficient. Try being short, sharp and to the point. For example, instead of
   ‘ I was responsible for interfacing / co-ordinating between different phases of each project such as design, procurement and construction and I was responsible for dealing with the client and negotiating change orders. I was responsible for awarding subcontractors and for monitoring all activities related to each project. I would also conduct regular meetings with clients to review each project and put structures in place to ensure all specifications were met.
   
   you could put:
   
   · Interfaced regularly between design, procurement & construction teams
   · Handled client issues effectively and set-up change control processes
   · Reviewed and appointed sub-contractors and negotiated supplier agreements
   · Monitored progress and held meetings to redefine actions and deliverables
   
3. Don’t be afraid to have several versions of your CV. This is perfectly acceptable and the more focused your CV is for the role you want, the better chance you have of securing the interview.
   
4. Many candidates are found through keyword searches on huge CV databases. Ensure your CV contains all of the relevant keywords.
   
5. Try to avoid having date gaps in your CV.
   
6. Don’t lie. This could damage your credibility beyond repair.
   
7. Include your highest level of education. Unless you are starting your career, you do not need to put down details of your secondary school.
   
8. Do not include salary details which is very sensitive information and should only be put in a targeted covering letter if requested.
   
9. Don’t forget, recruiters and HR personnel are specialists in their fields, not specialists in yours. Ensure they will be able to easily build up a mental picture as to what you do and how relevant you are for the role they are recruiting for.
   
10. Presentation and formatting is just as important as the content in your CV. This is where you have the opportunity to create impact with good use of fonts and white space. Don’t ‘clutter’ up your CV with unnecessary graphics and too many words.
    
11. Check thoroughly for spelling and grammatical errors.
    
12. Last but not least – keep your CV on the short side. Two pages is ideal, however, three pages is just about acceptable for senior executives and highly technical staff.

Need help to create a killer CV?

Simply e-mail your CV to cvs@pro-serve-resources.co.uk quoting reference jg01 for a FREE CV CRITIQUE. A CV expert from Pro-Serve will contact you personally to discuss your CV and provide you with some honest and objective feedback. Pro-Serve also provide reasonably priced professional CV writing services.