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A Winning CV
Your CV is your personal advertisement – it is usually the first impression you make to a perspective employer. It is essentially a sales tool, it's sole purpose is to get you an interview. Employers receive hundreds of CV’s for every available position. Somewhere in the pile is yours. Research shows that recruiters spend about five seconds glancing at each CV. Your objective is to make it to the top of the pile that gets invited for an interview.
Some helpful tips
- Include the following: Contact Information, Key Skills, Work Experience, Achievements, Education & Training.
- Define who you are, (your experience, qualifications and work history) as informatively, clearly and concisely as possible.
- Tailor your CV to each job to make you a highly desirable candidate – note the job title, responsibilities, industry, education/years of experience required, software/hardware experience required.
- Also write how your skills and experience match the desired skills for this position in the covering letter/email.
- Grab the employer’s attention by focusing on the benefits that your skill set can provide their company.
- Space it out well, never clutter a page with too much information. First impressions count.
- Keep it short and simple. The length of the CV is related to how much work experience you have accumulated. Your most recent experience should receive the greatest exposure. If you've been in the workforce for a long time, simply list the position, company and dates of roles more than 7 years ago.
- Use pro-active words and concise sentences.
- Be honest. Don’t exaggerate your experience to make it sound more impressive.
- Always proofread your resume for spelling and grammatical errors.
Interview Tips
Interviews – “the only time in your life when you get to talk about yourself as much as you like and others have to listen”!!!
You have been called for an interview because the client is interested in your mix of skills and experience, so don’t be shy about these skills – sell yourself. The best thing to do before an interview is practice. Practice being an effective salesperson; demonstrate how appropriate your skills are to the client’s requirements without appearing arrogant.
Listen carefully when your consultant is telling you about the role, ensure you have full details of who you are to meet, their name/names, title, the job title and description, and what form the interview will take – i.e. behavioural interview style, questions and answers, a test format or a combination.
Interviews are two-sided. The client will want to be satisfied, that you are qualified and experienced to manage the job in hand and you will fit into their company culture. You need to be convinced that this will be an interesting and challenging role that will give you some valuable experience. The client will describe the job to you and expect relevant questions showing interest in the assignment. Prepare questions to ask. Remember to emphasize how you would benefit their company.
It is very important to create the right impression, always dress smart, be on time, be alert, attentive, polite, co-operative and responsive.
Good luck!
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