The number one goal we have here is to ensure that the candidates we help stand out to employers for all the right reasons. So how can this be achieved?
First, the CV has to be impeccable. By this, we mean that the CV must be both beautifully written and perfectly presented, without a single error.
“One of the most common reasons for a CV to get rejected is because of poor presentation and/or spelling mistakes,” explains career expert Martin Carline at CV Template Master. “It won’t matter how many skills and qualifications you have if your CV doesn’t look great, and fails to cover all the relevant sections expected by an employer.”
It’s not just spelling and grammar though – a perfectly presented CV will be printed using a good quality printer on high quality paper, properly aligned with even margins. We see no end of CVs where the candidate hasn’t taken the time and care to ensure the document is printed evenly, or stapled neatly in the top corner.
A sloppy CV says one thing to the hiring manager: you don’t care. You don’t care about his or her business, you don’t really care about the role and you’re highly unlikely to care about the work you’re given. Whilst none of those things may be true, a creased, poorly aligned CV on cheap paper screams these suggestions.
The other way we help candidates make an impact is by ensuring their CV ‘shows’ rather than ‘tells’. Too many CVs are full of fluffy idealistic statements, such as ‘I’m a great team player’. It’s so easy to make these claims but remember – every candidate will be doing the same! The CVs that really stand out are those that:
- Are written around the job advert (i.e. they demonstrate the exact skills and qualifications specified by the employer) and
- Offer real evidence for the skills claimed.
“Instead of simply writing a list of achievements, out of context, be specific about exactly what you did and then take the time to explain the strategy and mechanisms that drove those achievements,” explains Gub McNicoll on LinkedIn.
Put yourself in the shoes of the employer – given a neatly presented CV which convinces you that the candidate has everything you’re looking for, would you refuse them an interview? Of course not!
When we explain this to candidates, they often say how simple the approach is – and they’re right. We simply help the candidate structure and present their CV in such a way that the employer has no choice but to interview them.
