For every job
post that HR professionals put out, they get a few hundred applicants.
And this is just
through job boards. Add LinkedIn, Facebook, the company website, and WhatsApp
to the mix and chances are that your CV is one amongst a couple of thousand hoping
to be picked-up for review. Screening these CVs to find the most suitable
candidates to interview is one of the most important functions in the talent
acquisition process. In its current state, it is also the most tedious and
errorprone. But we will leave that for another article.
Assuming that
your CV actually gets shortlisted for review, you have one chance to get the
attention of the HR manager and get shortlisted for an interview. Make sure you
give it the attention that it deserves.
Here are 6 CV
writing essentials, we think you should keep in mind with writing your CV:
Õ KEEPING IT TO ONE PAGE OR TWO
Considering that
the reviewer probably has under a minute to review your CV, it is important to
keep it short and readable. (I have heard HR executives tell me that they
sometimes are so inundated with CVs that they barely spend 10 seconds on a CV!
Yes, 10 seconds!).
When you sit
down to write a CV, the general tendency is to want to describe everything in
great detail. You need to control this urge and think from the reviewers’ point
of view. They have a minute to review your CV, so it is best to be succinct and
to the point, keeping the most important aspects of each role right at the top.
It should be easy enough for the reviewer to skim through your CV and still
understand your core competencies, skills and suitability for the role.
Õ CUSTOMISE YOUR CV FOR EACH JOB
Just as you
would like to be treated as an individual within a firm and not a ‘replaceable
resource’, recruiting managers also expect the same from you. If you are going
to be sending a generic CV, chances are that you are going to get a generic
response – which usually is a ‘no’.
Before you start
customising your CV, make sure you have understood the kind of experience
required for the role that you are applying for. Once you have done that, make
a list of things from your past work experience you feel are in line with the
skills and competencies the role demands and include those in your CV.
Õ INCLUDE NUMBERS, BUT NOT TOO MANY
Adding a few
crucial statistics is always advisable. For example, if you are in a marketing
role, it is great for the reviewer to get an idea of the kind of budget you
handled. The trick is to not overdo it. Keep only those statistics that help in
getting a clearer understanding of the scale and scope of your past experiences
and highlight the successes. For example, “Managed accounts in multiple
geographies” is perhaps better written as, “Managed eight accounts across three
states”. These two figures help the reviewer understand your role and add
context to the other details in your CV.
Õ STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
After you have
added all relevant details from the work and education history, give some
information about yourself that you feel brings out your personality. Most CVs
have this in the form of extracurricular activities, hobbies etc. So if you are
a professional dancer, or a yoga teacher or a state level athlete, definitely
mention it in your CV. But do not add information for the sake of filling out a
section. In fact, if you do not pursue any hobby, or a sport it is better to
not write generic things like “Travelling; Surfing the Internet (!!); Cricket”,
and instead write something that you actually do other than work. If that means
mentioning your addiction for reading Harry Potter books for the fourth time,
so be it. But let it be authentic.
Õ PROOF READ TWICE
Every person who
reviews CVs will tell you how spotting typos and grammatical errors is the
first thing they do. And once they have noticed an error, they cannot unsee it.
They have
already made a mental note of the error and carry it with them for the next
minute, and needless to say, not a great start.
After you have
written, formatted, edited your CV, please proof read it. And once you are done
proofreading it, proof read it again. And again. I cannot underscore the
importance of doing this.
(The author is
the founder of Notch Hire. They use digitisation, data and algorithms to help
companies hire better)
Õ MAKE IT LOOK GOOD After you have
written the first draft of the CV, you now need to make it look good. Go with a
style that is in line with the industry that you are applying for. Being
careful about the finer things like the legibility of the font, the font size,
the colours you pick for the text, etc can become crucial. Take a printout of
your CV and see if everything reads well
