An employer creates a job advert for one reason alone – to advertise an available position. This part is obvious, but the contents and requirements of that job advert are often ignored.
Why is the job seeker ignoring these important requirements?
The most common approach to CV writing is to create just the one application. This CV is often kept throughout the years with only a slight adjustment being made. The applicant will typically add the details of their current or previous employment, and apply again.
This method of CV writing is not going to impress the employer. It will usually lead to rejection or at the very least make it difficult to get an interview. Most job seekers fail to recognise that there is much more to be gained by a different approach.
The most effective way to write a CV is to start from scratch each and every time. This will then allow the job seeker to create a brand new CV and tailor it specifically to the role. In addition, the CV writer also has the opportunity to customise it for the company and the industry – for added effect!
Here’s why you shouldn’t keep the same CV:
It doesn’t meet the requirements
Let’s start with the most important reason why a job seeker shouldn’t keep the same CV – it doesn’t meet the requirements. The hiring manager has gone to a lot of trouble to write a job advert to attract the right people. As such, they will expect or certainly want only eligible applicants to send in their CV. Unfortunately, this just doesn’t happen in the real world.
Speaking from personal experience, I can confirm that a hiring manager is always guaranteed to receive numerous CVs which all fail to offer anything even remotely close to what the company is looking for. This is just a waste of time, for both the candidate and the hiring manager!
I feel that this happens for two reasons…
Firstly, the candidate is interested in the role and has some relevant experience, skills, or qualifications. They send their unaltered CV to the employer with their entire career history. Nothing has been tweaked, changed or tailored (with the exception of their previous or current role).
Secondly, the candidate has little to no interest of what they are applying for. Instead, they focus mainly on the salary and benefits. in addition, they apply to numerous companies for different positions with the same CV in the hope that at least one company contacts them.
Although the second candidate is doomed to fail in the above scenario, the first candidate will also struggle to impress. A lack of focus is the main issue here, and a well tailored CV will always achieve greater results.
It makes it harder for the hiring manager
The hiring manager’s job is hard enough, and with so many applications landing in their inbox they are going to be very busy during the hiring period. It should be your job as the CV writer to make their life as easy as possible. By making it easier for the manager to find what they want, you are giving yourself a better chance.
The manager doesn’t want to spend hours reading through the huge amount of applications they receive. Instead, they want to quickly make another pile of ‘potentials’ which can then be narrowed down further for the interview stage.
You may well be qualified for the role, but if you don’t clearly show that to the employer you will not reach your expectations. Keeping and using the same CV each time you are job hunting is going to make it more difficult than it should be.
