The Mystery of the CV.......

The concept behind the CV is simple isn’t it? It’s not like the Theory of Relativity or long division or trying to explain the offside rule in football to your girlfriend. So if it’s so simple why do CVs come in an infinite number of shapes, sizes and forms?

Part of the problem is that there is no single definition of what is the definitive CV. You can buy books, read career websites and talk to career counsellors and recruitment consultants and every one of them will have their own version of what is required and what makes the perfect CV. So what do you do?

Firstly, remember that your CV is your introduction to someone who doesn’t know you so the first impression is all important. Just like you wouldn’t (hopefully) turn up to an interview in a Billabong tee shirt and flip flops, so your CV must look professional and smart.

Secondly, it is a marketing document. It is not a technical manual or a list or a story; it is selling you. Marketing brochures (the good ones) sell you the idea, the concept of the product, why you would benefit from buying what it is selling. If you read a brochure on a luxury car does it tell you how many rivets went into making it? No, it has lots of pictures of the car speeding down roads in attractive locations with attractive people laughing and having a great time.

Thirdly, it is not meant to detail every second of your adult life. If you have been a PA everyone has a good idea of what a PA does so you don’t have to go into 10 pages of detail of every letter you typed, e-mail sent or meeting diarised. What makes you different from every other PA?

Lastly, get to the point. Focus on what makes you special, your achievements, your accomplishments, your knowledge and skills. You want to highlight what makes you special and how the company would benefit from hiring you. If the reader has to wade through 5 or 6 pages before getting to anything relevant, then they may give up before they have reached the interesting bits.

The secret to a good CV, as in many aspects of life, is that less is more. Try and keep your CV to no more than 3 pages and make sure your career history starts (with your current or last job) somewhere on the first page. If your list of hobbies, scout badges and training courses done more than 10 years ago won’t fit within the 3 pages leave them out. I am fairly certain that you won’t miss out on a job because you weren’t able to fit in your advanced knot badge (grade 3) from 1981 (unless of course the position requires advanced knots, but then that’s another story).