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Posted on October 20, 2009 at 11:07 AM



Given the economic climate and the increased competitiveness for jobs it is essential that
you do everything in your power to give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding.
A CV is the first thing that will get you an interview, so it must be perfect in design and
execution. If you are to create a positive impression then your grammar, punctuation,
spelling and expression must be perfect to show the potential employer that you can
berelied upon in the workplace, that you have a close attention to detail and that you
really want the job. CV writing is a creative process and will take many hours to perfect.
Aim to spend at least 10 hours on your CV to really make it the best that it can be. You
will probably need many more hours of research before you actually start writing it, but
when you do create a document thatreally does yourself justice it will be time well spent
and make a significant difference to your career prospects.

 


The effectiveness of your CV can only really be judged according to the career you are
focusing on. There are things that you can do to target your CV specifically to your
chosen industry and you need to mention all of the attributes needed for working in your
particular role. To really target your CV it cannot be generalised, you must completely
concentrate on the role that you want and highlight all of your skills to fit well with that
position. If you decide to target another industry then your CV would need to be rather
different and I would suggest re-writing the whole thing. A good idea is to write up to 3
different CVs if you want to apply for three slightly different jobs. This is to optimise
your chances by being specific and using existing experience in a way that can illustrate
your suitability for the job. They basically have most of the same information but it is
written in a completely different way and some skills were emphasised for a particular
role. This really targets your CV and makes all of your experience and training as
relevant as it can be.

A good idea would be to look at the company¶s website if they have one.

· What is their missionstatement?

· What kind of people do theyemploy?
· Would you fit in well with thiscompany?
· Do you have the required skillsand experience?
· Do you know the company insideout?
· Are you passionate about whatthey do?

Another tip is to look at the job advertisement and the things thatthe company expects
from an employee. Of course it is essential that you do not lie or fabricate experience just
to make it fit in with what they are lookingfor as this is dishonest practice and will soon
be found out by an employer ifthey call you for interview. You must always be truthful
about yourqualifications and experience, but this method of checking all job
requirementson an advertisement is effective as it may have mentioned some things that
youwouldn¶t have thought were important, but you know you can do. It may also actas a
springboard for you to pick out other qualities that you possess thatwould be useful in
that role.

It is also important to not just write out the requirements of the role as it is written on the
advertisement as this will appear lazy to an employer and they will suspect that you are
merely copy and pasting skills that you don¶t necessarily have. If you find it difficult to
express yourself in a different way and are trying to say the same thing, you could try a
good thesaurus tomake your sentences µactive¶ and full of buzzwords. Or perhaps you
could get one of your friends or your family to read over it and give you their opinions. It
is always best to have as much feedback on your CV as possible so that youcan pick and
choose what are good and bad ideas. Try to be subjective about your CV and not take
advice and comments personally. See it as a piece of work that you have to analyse and
try to be as picky and negative as possible as this will only be to your benefit in the long
run. If you eradicate as many weaknesses as you possibly can at this stage then you will
only have a better chance of gaining an interview. Be critical with yourself to be good to
yourself.

When asking friends or family to read over your CV, get them to answer a few questions
that will help you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your CV better.

· How is this CV different fromothers that you have read?

· How would you make it stand outform hundreds of others?
· What is boring and predictableabout my CV?
· What are the negative andpositive aspects of my CV?
· What was your initialimpression of my template?
· Do you think that it isrelevant and targets my chosen industry/job role?

Create sentences that really appeal to an employer and illustrate your passion for thejob.
There is nothing a potential employer hates more than picking up another monotone and
predictable CV, especially if they have over 300 of them to read! Show the reader that
you are confident, enthusiastic and capable. Demonstrate that you are someone that they
would love to work with and be part of their team. If the tone of your CV sounds as
though you are bored and don¶t really have any self- belief, it will be extremely difficult
for the reader to picture you in the role. Don¶t give them any reason to doubt your
sincerity or aptitude for the job, make them want to hire you before someone else gets
you.
If you are in any doubt as to whether your CV is doing the job that you want it to then
have alook at friends¶ or colleagues¶ CVs as you might find ideas that you never even
thought of. There are also many sites on the web that give you examples of effective and
ineffective CVs before you start your own. Take a look at CV Consultancies too who
offer free professional CV appraisals and reviews. When you have the right information
from the outset, it will eradicate anyself-doubt that you may initially have and give you
the added confidence to write a CV that will be effective and get you the job that you
want.

Good luck with starting out in writing your CV! Check back regularly for updates as I
will be taking you through all of the different aspects of writing a successful CV. Every
conceivable thing will be mentioned to give you the inspiration and tools necessary to
create the best CV that you have ever written. In the meantime, ifyou would like more
detailed and personalised advice in relation to what industry and job you are targeting
then you can email a copy of your CV to cv.services1@googlemail.comand we will
review and analyse your CV for FREE. View our website for more information at
www.cv4me.webs.com.