Preparing Your CV For A New Role

Preparing a good CV is essential when looking for any job. Your CV is an employer’s first impression of you, it can decide whether you go in the yes pile or the no pile. At HireIQ it is our mission to find the right job for you. We have put together a few tips to help you write the perfect CV for employers. 

What to include in your CV

You want your CV to be three things, interesting, informative and unique. Grabbing an employer’s attention should be the main focus when you are writing your CV,  this is why structure is so important. A well structured resume can be what puts you ahead of others in this process. When formatting your CV remember these few tips:

• Include a personal profile at the top
• Remember your personal information (name, address, email, telephone number)
• Include experience and skills 
• Do not over do it! Too much information looks cluttered and unprofessional
• Ensure all information is accurate 
• Keep it current – most recent experience comes first!
• Include keywords (for search engines on job sites)

Along with these tips there are many other things to think about when constructing your CV. As well as the layout you must think about the contents. Always begin with your information, employers need to know who they are reading about. Tailor it to you. Whether you have years of experience in the same company or you have been at lots of different companies explain how your experience has helped you – everyone’s experience is different!

The essentials

Although your CV should be written personal to you, you must remember to include the essentials;

• Cover letter
• Personal and contact information
• Personal statement 
• Education
• Work experience
• IT skills
• Interests and activities

Things to watch out for

As your CV is usually the first impression an employer has of you, there are certain things they look out for. 

Try your best not to leave any gaps in your CV. As most of us follow a similar structure of a CV we sometimes think it is ok to leave gaps if we don’t have the information but this does not go down well with employers. It can look very suspicious if there is a gap in employment that you haven’t addressed. It is best to put a positive spin on this type of situation, whether you declare why or add in a course you took the time to complete, it will look much better. 

Read and reread! Believe it or not, employers look for mistakes on CV’s and if they find them you are usually put straight into the no pile. This may seem harsh but employers can receive hundreds of applications so you are just giving them reason to dismiss your CV with one mistake. 

Do not lie! We all know how the saying goes, ‘everyone lies on their CV’, but this is not a good idea, trust us. Even a white lie can get you into trouble or can have you watching what you say if you get the job in the end. Telling the truth is always the better option!

To chat to our team about your CV and future job opportunities, contact us today!