Rule 2

RULE #2 FOR PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE CV (HERE’S HOW I KNOW I DO IT WELL)

Last week I talked about what a CV is designed to do in the job hunting process. To recap:  We discussed that while the content of the CV is there to give a brief and accurate report on what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it, the reason for the CV is to stand out from the pack and gain the interest of your recruiter and prompt them to call you for more info (phew, long sentence!) Last week I showed you one way to present the first part of your CV, the professional profile and major skill sets. Now it’s time for rule number 2. 

Rule #2

Career history. In brief it’s about short sentences, dot points and figures. Make it easy to read. Nothing too wordy around your position descriptions and results results results!

E.g. XYZ Recruitment
Recruitment Consultant
November 11 – January 13 

Responsible for the recruitment of blue-collar mobile equipment maintenance staff for the resources and mining sector. My focus over the last 12 months has been on owner miners, original equipment manufacturers and dry hire companies supplying heavy earthmoving plant to surface miners in the WA mining industry. My achievements to date include: 

  • Delivering in excess of $480k in GP in my first 12 months
  • Delivering an average of $31k GP per period since start
  • Establishing and maintaining relationships with over 15 major clients.
  • Managing a portfolio of 65 clients
  • Over 45 temp & perm placements in 16 months
  • Highest achieving period $81K

The idea of the dot points is show success at the role you have outlined above. The short position description is the: “This is what I do” and the dot points are the: “here’s how I know I do it well” bit. AT ALL COSTS AVOID “COPY & PASTING” YOUR PAST JOB DESCRIPTIONS “KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES” IN THIS SPACE. Hopefully the person interviewing you knows what’s involved in the role (if not, you are dealing with the wrong recruiter) so telling them what they already know won’t help you.

You need to show the recruiter why you are better at the job that are applying for than any other applicant you are competing with. This can be as easy as simply being able to present your success better than the next guy. Recruiters & HR people are want to give you the job, and they want you to help them justify doing this. Make it easy for them to do this and you win.

In regards to numbers and deliverables, here are some ideas:

  • Value of projects/system/sales completed
  • Number of people on the project you managed/size of team you worked with
  • Significant achievements while on the job
  • Number of months ahead of schedule
  • What efficiencies did you introduce
  • Value of savings you made through efficiencies you introduced
  • Number of people services provided to
  • How many concurrent projects you worked/managed
  • Major hurdles overcome (if they can be summed up in a dot point)

The list is endless and job specific. The trick to this is that a number catches the eye. The recruiter reading your CV will stop their brief scan to read in detail the context around the number and that’s when you’ve got them hooked.

Ok, so now we know that it’s not about spelling out each and every role requirement of your job, it’s about showing them that you did the job well by the results you delivered. If you can successfully do this, a good recruiter will want to know how you delivered such fantastic results and hey presto you have yourself a follow up call.

Tomorrow we’ll cover the balance of your CV and after that…the dreaded cover letter… *queue dramatic music*

Cheers,

James

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