I am often asked "what makes a good CV?" Well my response, as you might expect, is that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to CV's. However it is possible to identify some important elements that must be present for your CV to be a successful one. So what do I mean by a "successful" CV? Let's start with element number one and perhaps the most common misconception of all in the whole job application process - the purpose of a CV.
Many job applicants believe the purpose of a CV is to get you the job. It is not - the purpose of a CV is to get you an interview. If you keep that in mind you will avoid the number one pitfall which is to pack your CV with too much information, believing that some poor recruiter or HR person will sift through it to determine whether you are an applicant they want to talk to or not. I can tell you that most of them will not. Which brings me on to the second element - be relevant.
Your CV must match the job brief and this must be apparent within about 20 seconds of someone reading it. Make sure you gather as much information about the position you are applying for and have thought carefully of examples from your previous jobs where you demonstate the sought after skills and experience. Make sure that this is right at the top of your CV, not buried at the end after a long list of your secondary school qualifications that no-one cares about !
Thirdly, include one good reason why the employer should want to inteview you. Many candidates struggle to come up with just one good reason why an employer should want to meet them - well if they can't how do they expect an employer to find a reason !
The fourth element of your CV should be an indication of something that you would like to discuss with the employer when you meet at an interview. Of course this has to be something relevant to the employer so this is where the background research, your USP's and CV writing all combine. For example: " in my last position as Head Purchaser for the Widget Corporation I reduced the average time for payment from our customers from 60 days to 24 days, substantially improving our cashflow. I would be delighted to explain to you how I achieved this and how I could appy the same skills to assist in your company's payments collection "
Finally, don't be afraid to put something of your personality into your CV. Personality does matter to employers - it must do as they collectively spend over 100M$ per year on personality profiling ! So make sure that your CV really says something about you, the person, as opposed to a long factual account of what you have done in your professional life. The most common mistake is to submit a CV or job application totally void of personality, which doesn't stand out and ends up on the discard pile!
