Content is King
Over 90% of CV’s fail because they lack focus. If you think your CV is about you, you are wrong. Your CV contains information about you BUT it is about the recruiter. You must put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter when writing a CV and focus on information relevant to their needs. The best example of this is that many CV’s have a “Personal Profile”. Waste of time!! What does your profile tell the recruiter – that you are enthusiastic, hard working, work well on own initiative and as part of a team.

Some profiles tell the recruiter that the jobseeker is keen to secure a job in a progressive company. Remember employers don’t care what you want. They only care if you can solve their problem and do the job. Let’s look at another example of lack of focus. Most jobseekers have great work experience which they are keen to get on paper. Unfortunately much of this experience is not relevant and therefore dilutes the document. Concentrate of relevant content!! Identify what the recruiter requires and highlight how you meet these requirements.

Information easy to find
If information does not make the front page it is not important. Many recruiters rarely get past the first page of a CV. Do you notice how most newspapers try to get their key stories on the front page? If you don’t get your relevant information on the first page you may miss out on interviews. Your CV has a 20 second window to make an impact. I have designed CV’s with Hobbies and Interests on the first page. This is something that traditionalist would mock. If it is relevant - why not put it on the first page? Don’t stick to rigid layout advice. A CV is a marketing document and a fluid document. If the information is relevant ensure it makes front page reading.

First impressions count
I am not a big fan of CV’s with “bells and whistles”. Many jobseekers try to stand out by formatting fancy CV’s. Remember as magnolia sells houses, clean and simple sells CV’s. You can make your CV look good without being flash. Flash can turn recruiters off as a sitting-room painted in pink can turn off house buyers. Some key points are ensuring that there is white space on your CV, use bullet points and uniform fonts.