Finally, a much welcome break from the daily grind! Hurrah! Yes, this festive time of year is the perfect time to catch up with friends and family and unwind, however it’s also the perfect time to reflect on the year and to make headway with that New Year’s resolution. Yes you know the one, the new job! So if you have a spare few hours in between all the festive fun, why not invest them in updating your CV and scoping out the opportunities that might be available to you.
Review your CV
Assessed what’s out there and made a decision about what you want your next move to be? That’s great, now scan that CV and compare it to the job spec that’s making your heart pound with excitement. What new skills have you acquired since you last updated that CV? Add any that would be relevant to the role in question, it’s also important to delete any out of date information if it’s not relevant to your career progression. Ensure that the format of your CV is current and easy to read for the inbox it lands in.
Add your current role
All too often we never update our CV’s as we go along, and why would we, we have no need to. So first things first get your current job on that CV. Make sure you break down the role so that it highlights all of your transferable skills and that the description is easy for a recruiter to understand. Consider these three points
- Outline the current organisation you work for
- Where you sit within the organisation
- The objectives of your role and how they contribute to the operation of the business.
Be sure to also add any achievements and awards that you have gained in the role.
Create a stand out profile
This is the first thing that a recruiter will read and it’s your selling tool. It’s imperative that this section is kept up to date and includes all of your newly gained skills. Your profile should be directly targeted towards your new career goals. It should be short, punchy and to the point, giving the reader just enough information to want to continue reading the rest of your CV.
Keep it to two pages
It’s easy to get carried away ensuring that you’ve crammed all of your skills onto your CV, especially if you’re adding a new role to it. Evaluate what really needs to be on there and remove any out dated skills that are not relevant to your current job search. Yes, career history is important to employers, so there is no need to completely cut out your dated roles, however you do not need to go into every detail, a brief summary will suffice.
Once you’ve spruced up your CV why not send it over to our team here. Have a look at our other hints and tips on interview techniques.