It’s time to update your CV and reflect on your ambitions for the year ahead! This useful guide will help you navigate the maze of advice out there and as Richard Branson says, KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid!
Assess the job market – Before you start working on your CV, find out what the demands are in the job market. Industry trends change quickly, so it’s essential to do your research, especially if you’re slightly out of touch. Browse through online job adverts and find out which of your technical and non-technical skills are most in demand (Solvency II, IFRS, organisational change, team leadership etc.). Once you’ve done this, you’ll know exactly what skills and experience to include in your CV.
Review your CV – Determine where new skills and experience needs to be added to your CV and also what older information may be removed now that it is less relevant to your next career move. Also consider the format, structure and length. Could your CV be made easier to read and your key relevant experience more obvious? If you have 3yrs or 20yrs experience you must still find a way of effectively presenting this in 2-3 pages max. Remember, your CV only needs to provide enough detail to catch the eye of the hiring company and an interview will give you and them an opportunity to explore your experience further.
Structure your CV – Don’t sweat it – there’s no set rule here! As long as you include something similar to the following sections; a) Personal Summary/Profile, b) Key Skills/Experience/Behaviours, c) Education, d) Qualifications & Professional Training, e) Systems/IT experience, f) Languages and g) Career History. It’s most important to ensure it’s well presented and easy to read!
Stay away from that thesaurus! Are you really a “change management enabler”? Ditch the jargon! Your Personal Summary/Profile, at the top of your CV, is the first thing that a recruiter will see, so it’s important that it sells you! Keep it brief and punchy to ensure it holds readers attention and tempts them to read your CV in full. Don’t get carried away, stick to reality and avoid listing every adjective under the sun – anyone can write this on a CV!
Key words are the key! Like it or not, your CV needs to get through various gatekeepers (incl. recruiters and HR) before landing with the hiring manager and so it must contain keywords relevant to your technical (IFRS, Solvency II, USGAAP etc.) and non-technical (team/change management etc) experience. We’re not mind readers, so make sure nothing’s left to the imagination!
Behaviours – You’ll have seen many job specs list some of the following required experience; strong communicator, team leadership, effective under pressure, attention to detail, stakeholder management etc. Nowadays, competency based interviews/assessments require you to demonstrate these behaviours. It’s not good enough to just list these on your CV, they must be evidenced! Provide a select 3-4 key behaviours and briefly evidence them eg. ‘Experienced stakeholder manager: regularly liaising with senior management, managing key stakeholders across the business as well as external third parties.’
How to describe each role – Take a step back and evaluate the role from an outsider’s perspective to ensure that you provide a coherent description. Start by providing a brief outline to your role that explains where you sit within the organization, reporting lines, key stakeholder relationships and any team management. Then list your responsibilities/deliverables and finally any key achievements – back these up with facts and figures to quantify your value.
Less is more! Summarise and then summarise again! Avoid long sentences and blocks of continuous text. Use short sharp bullet points, remembering to include any newly learned skills and always try to show the impact or outcome of your work. It’s crucial to reduce the detail of some of your earlier roles (but don’t remove previous employment). You don’t need every detail of roles that are 10 years old! Summarise earlier positions, giving readers just enough detail to understand your progression.
Does one size fit all? No. Be prepared to tailor your CV and adapt it for specific applications, prioritising or highlighting certain skills. It’s therefore helpful to have a master copy that you can adapt as and when necessary.
A CV is for life not just for Christmas! Your CV will need continuous updating, editing and modernising throughout your career as the way companies hire also evolves. Can you really afford to cut corners….?
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