Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash.
You’ve been job hunting for a while but with no luck. You have plenty of experience, ideal qualifications and the right skills, but the phone still isn’t ringing. Sound familiar? It might be time to rejig your resume. Your CV is the first thing a potential employer sees, so it pays to get it right.
A recent study by a US recruiting firm found that employers spend just six seconds looking at any one person’s CV, so it is important to catch their attention and stand out from the crowd. ‘The job of a resume is to get you a phone call,’ said Mathew Hehir from creative recruitment company Artisan. ‘Make it work as hard as it can for you!’
Whether you’ve got years of experience under your belt or are newly joining the workforce, your chance of landing an interview is much more likely if you have a killer CV to show off your education, skills and experience. To help you refresh your CV, we compiled the latest advice on how to present yourself in the best possible light.
1. Don’t rely on Spellcheck
There’s no faster way to ensure your CV gets put in the ‘no’ pile than to have a glaring spelling mistake. Annabel Craig, a director at creative recruitment company Hartas &Craig, sees hundreds of CVs each week. ‘One of the biggest mistakes we see is typos in a CV. They are unnecessary and a complete turn off for many prospective employers,’ said Craig.
Make sure that your writing is word perfect. By all means run it through your computer’s spelling and grammar checks, but be sure to check it yourself for errors that the program can miss. Read it aloud slowly to make sure the wording is clear, concise and spelled correctly. Even better, have an eagle-eyed friend review it.
2. Keep it consistent
The prospective employer is likely to look at your CV in the context of Googling you and reviewing any work you provide or that they find online.
Hehir said it’s important to ensure the CV sits comfortably in the context of your work. ‘One thing that many candidates overlook is the fact that their CV is one part of a suite of sales tools to promote themselves and sell them in the best possible light. You may have an accompanying website, showreel or folio, as well as social media, so it’s important to ensure that all these things have a similar tone and aesthetic to show the best personal representation. Make sure your LinkedIn account and any public social media accounts are also up to date.’
3. Make your cover letter work harder
If your cover letter is in a separate document it may never be opened. Copy the text into the body of your email or the application form provided and include it in within your CV document.
Use the letter to highlight the most impressive parts of the resume: the skills, experience and achievements which are most relevant to the job you are applying for. The cover letter is also where you can show genuine excitement and enthusiasm for the role, and inject some personality into your application. Include the name of the company and the role you are applying for, and if possible, the name of the person reviewing the applications. This shows that you have done your research. ‘Addressing the wrong person in the cover letter is surprisingly common and shows a lack of attention to detail,’ said Craig.
4. Ditch the jargon
Using internal language such as unwieldy acronyms, niche tech speak or terms specific to a certain workplace can turn off potential employers. Use plain English rather than trying to impress with fancy words. Take the advice of the ancient Roman rhetorician Quintilian, ‘One should aim not at being possible to understand, but at being impossible to misunderstand.’
5. Show results
‘Quantifying your successes is important,’ said Hehir. ‘Instead of just saying that something was successful, try to explain why is was a success. Back it up with figures.’
Give specific results and examples. “Increased our portfolio from eight artists to 25 artists” is more impressive than “helped recruit artists to our portfolio”. Potential employers will want to know what you can do for them, so give concrete examples.
6. Show them the money
In any business, and even if you are applying to a government or not-for-profit, the effect of your salary will be on the mind of the person assessing your application. Explain how you helped the bottom line in your previous roles whether by bringing in income or saving the company money. The hip pocket nerve is highly sensitive.
7. Use testimonials
Don’t just provide referees on request. Include a testimonial from a past boss or a brief endorsement from a client. It speaks directly to your likability and experience, and helps to personalise your application. You can include these on your resume or in your cover letter.
8. Make it easy
Add your contact details to every page of the CV, as well as in the email. This makes it easy for the employer to get in touch without having to hunt through the CV looking for your email address.
9. Don’t include personal details
There is no reason to included information about your marital status, nationality, religion or age in a CV. Anti- discrimination laws prevent employers from questioning candidates about their personal lives, but employers may still hold an unconscious bias, so it’s best to remove the issue completely.
10. Tailor the info…
Only include information that is relevant to the job you are applying for. There’s no point including the course you took in mountaineering when applying for a job as a gallery assistant, so edit and shape your resume to reflect the most relevant and important skills and experience.
11. … and the design
Generally, your CV should use a simple font on clean white A4 paper. However, if you are applying for a particularly creative job or a position in the design industry, it can be helpful to pay extra attention to detail and use your resume to show off your design skills. ‘Keep it clean and simple – no wacky fonts or bright colours,’ said Craig.
Use columns, bullet points or personal logos, but remember: keep it simple, clean and easy to read. Avoid cluttered layouts with numerous headers, footers or tables, as they are distracting and can distort when viewed with different software.
If you are showing a folio of work, pay close attention to the presentation. ‘Having typos in your folio is a big no-no,’ said Craig. ‘A really well presented folio can make up for work that is perhaps not as strong as it could be, whereas excellent work that is poorly presented won’t make a good impression.’
12. Include extracurriculars
Including your interests and volunteer activities can help personalise your resume and provide a point of difference. In the arts they provide a sense of your passion for the field. Look for ways to show responsibility or success; for example, if you organise a weekend sporting team or a local market.
‘One of the first things that many hiring managers will look at is the hobbies section. It helps to differentiate candidates from the rest of the pack and helps add personality and character. Do your research – if you’ve noticed that the studio you are applying at is full of people that enjoy cycling, and you are also into cycling, then mention that in your CV. People want to work with people that they like’, said Hehir.
13. Be honest
Falsifying information on resumes is rife through all level of business. In 2014, retail giant Myer faced a PR disaster when it was revealed their newest executive appointment Andrew Flanagan had fudged a Managing Director position at Spanish fashion powerhouse Zara on his resume. Flanagan pleaded guilty in court to obtaining a financial advantage by deception and was placed on a three year community corrections order.
There is a difference between highlighting the most relevant skills and straight out lying. Falsifying information and exaggerating successes is deceptive and will most likely be found out. Be honest and upfront and let your skills speak for themselves.
14. Leverage the kids
In the past women, in particular, were encourage to behave as if their children didn’t exist. But an unexplained gap in your CV is far more problematic than a chunk of time invested in a role which requires extraordinary time management skills, organisation and hard work.
Rather than pretending that time didn’t exist mention the skills and experience you gained, freelancing while on maternity leave, developing skills through study or volunteering. Rehrase running the kindergarten fete as project managing a fundraising event and your CV looks richer for the time away.
15. Use point form
The employer has a lot of reading to do so make your CV an easy job. Boil points down to their essentials. Avoid using first or third person speech: instead of writing “I was responsible for…” or “Kate was responsible for…”, simply write “Responsible for managing a team of three.”
‘Many candidates might have a clear idea in their own head of their involvement in a project, but have trouble translating that to their resumes and as a result, undersell themselves. It can be hard condensing several years of work into one sentence, so focus on where you went above and beyond in the role,’ said Hehir.
16. Address the selection criteria
If the job advertisement comes with selection criteria, do your best to address them directly. You can do this either in the cover letter, or in a separate page. Try to use the same language and wording as the selection criteria, and give clear examples or details about the ways in which your skills and expertise meets the criteria.
17. Don’t make it too long
An ideal resume is two pages, max. If you are struggling to keep it brief, cut the descriptions of your older roles. Recruiters do not need to know about what you did 10 years ago in great detail. If you’ve got a lot of experience, you can simply list your oldest roles to save space.
Your cover letter should be one page only, and ideally only a few paragraphs. Between 150-350 words is perfect.
18. Ask for advice
Do you have a friend who is a stickler for grammar, works in HR or gives good feedback? Ask them to have a read of your CV and offer their opinions on where it needs improvement. Be sure to get them to look at your cover letter or folio too.
19. Use words from the advertisement
Try and use the same language and wording as the job advertisement. If the advertisement uses a quite formal tone, then keep your CV quite formal and official. If the advertisement uses casual, funny or witty language, feel free to continue that tone throughout your CV.
20. Send it as a PDF
Combine all the files (the cover letter, resume and possibly the selection criteria and any other required information) into one PDF document, and send it as one file. This makes it simple and clear for the employer to open and read, rather than having to faff around with multiple files.
21. Showcase your online world
Have you got a personal blog, website or online folio which is relevant to the application? Link to it in your cover letter or resume. It can help to add personality and character to your application. Just make sure that there is nothing incriminating or embarrassing online – it can be helpful to Google yourself first, because the employer will undoubtedly do it for you.
22. No stupid emails or voicemails
Are you still using hotchick84@hotmail.com as your email address? Ditch. It. Now. You want people to take you seriously, and using your high school email address is hardly professional.
On that note, make sure your voicemail message is professional and confident, ready for when the employers start calling. And unless your teenage kids or housemates can be trusted to take a message, only list your mobile number.
23. Make sure you remember what you said
If you do get through to an interview, you better know your resume and experience inside out. Be prepared to be quizzed on your skills and experience, and have examples of times when you showed initiative, responsibility or resourcefulness.
24. Show your personality
‘Some of the most memorable CVs are full of personality and character. Many people in the creative industry are passionate about what they do, and they want to work with people who are equally passionate. Injecting a bit of personality into the CV will make you seem more likable, and therefore more likely to be hired,’ said Hehir.
25. Avoid pictures
Unless you are a model or performer, there is no reason to include a picture on your CV. Including a photo can cause potential employers to judge you based on your appearance. You want them focussed on your skills and expertise, not your looks. ‘Including a photograph is completely unnecessary,’ said Craig. ‘It can often work against you, as people may judge you unfairly. And with social media being so accessible, if anyone want to see what someone looks like, they will be able to find a picture easily enough.’
26. Be original
Don’t use a CV template that you found online. While resume inspiration can be helpful, using a template will be glaringly obvious to a hiring manager who may see hundreds of CVs cross their desk every week. Tailor your CV for every application.
27. Include a personal statement
This should sit at the top of the first page of your resume, and be a sentence or two that summarises your experience and skills. For example, “Versatile arts manager with over 10 years’ experience engaging with key stakeholders and clients within the commercial arts sector. Particular expertise in delivering innovative solutions, assimilating business needs and engaging people to deliver positive outcomes. Strong interest in cultural art and making art accessible for all.”
28. Think like a journo
News journalists use the “inverted triangle” method of writing, where they cram the most pertinent and newsworthy information in the top few paragraphs, with the less important information towards the end. Most people look at the middle top section of a page first, so put your most relevant and impressive information there.
29. Think like software
Many recruiters and large HR departments use software which scans CVs for key words, such as ‘SEO’, ‘finished artist’ or ‘editing experience’. Bear this in mind when writing your resume, so try to include phrases or words used in the job description and keep the language as simple and standard as possible.
30. Make sure your referee works for you
The best referees are past managers, supervisors or, if you’ve just left school, lecturers or teachers. It’s common just to supply them on request so you can contact them when the employer is checking and word them up on your application.
If you don’t attach it to your CV, have a list of about three referees ready to go with as much contact information as possible: full name, position, company, phone numbers and email addresses. Make sure they will be available to take a call. If an employer is up to checking referees on a couple of applicants and yours is too hard to contact you could be pipped at the post.
