Scrutinising your CV before the recruiter does is a great way to court a positive result and improve your chances of securing that much-coveted interview. By analysing and judging your CV’s content with a critical eye, you should be inspired to identify and pursue some areas of improvement. It is well worth taking the time and making the effort to complete a thorough review of your CV to ensure that it presents you at your best.
This week’s blog looks at practical ways to refine and improve your CV’s content, focused around two very simple questions: So what? Says who? These two little questions can be applied to every section of your CV and can make a big impact. Here’s how to use them to ensure your CV does you justice:
Question 1 – So what?
Asking ‘So what?’ about every line of your CV is a great way to critique potentially staid content. This small and simple question makes you consider the true results of your actions, helping you to refine your CV content to make it more powerful.
Your CV is likely to contain any number of woolly generalisations, all CVs tend to. By asking ‘so what?’ and answering your own question, you can inform the recruiter about how your actions make a difference, taking them from a 2D status to a 3D statement.
When reading each line of your CV, ask:
So what?
What was the actual result and impact of this action?
What specific benefit did I deliver by doing this?
How did my action impact in a local and in a wider context?
Then use your answers to reword and upgrade your CV content. By being more specific about your experience, skills and achievements you can improve your presentation of your offering, making it clear to recruiters why they should interview and hire you.
Quantify your achievement wherever possible. By including a tangible measurement (size of budget, cost savings made, performance against set sales targets, or even awards), you can help the recruiter to get a better handle of what your actions and results were.
The ultra-cool BBC Dimensions site illustrates the power of quantifying events to communicate a point. The site enables users to take important places, historical events and things, and overlay them onto a zoomable map of their own locality. When considering something remote like the size of the moon, it can be hard to visualise how large it actually is. By describing it in terms we are more familiar with, we gain a better understanding of its features.
Question 2 – Says who?
As part of your personal marketing toolkit, your CV, by its very nature, will represent your own personal take on your experience, skills and achievements. Asking ‘Says who?’ is a good litmus test, giving you the chance to sanity check and validate your own opinions before the recruiter does.
When reading each line of your CV, ask:
Says who?
Is there someone who would corroborate my statement?
Would their opinion of me be of interest to the recruiter?
How can I evidence their opinion to the recruiter?
If others in your peer group wouldn’t necessarily back up a statement on your CV, then reconsider how authentic it is and whether you should include it. If others would be willing to recommend you for the skills and experience you are promoting, then consider how to convey this to the recruiter.
You can reword and upgrade your CV content to reflect the opinions of your network. For example, rather than stating:
‘Delivered a tangible increase in sales turnover’
You could write:
‘Achieved a commendation from the CEO for driving a 50% increase in sales turnover within six months’
Whilst references don’t really belong on a CV, a way around this is to reference your LinkedIn url for recruiters to follow and find out more. Using LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements are a great way to convey what others think of you. This kind of social proof is massive and represents an easy and transparent way to evidence that you are who you say you are, and that you do know what you say you know. You can:
Request and showcase LinkedIn recommendations from peers at all levels to build and enhance your reputation. Don’t be shy, go ahead and ask people in your network who can give positive feedback on your work. Having great recommendations on your profile will boost your credibility and will make the recruiter consider your profile in a more favourable light.
Enhance your LinkedIn profile with projects, tagging other involved parties and adding interactive media files to engage recruiters. These projects could be referenced and hyperlinked to your LinkedIn on your CV, so that the recruiter can easily click through to find out more. Project examples can add real depth to a CV, so it is worth giving your CV writer some shining examples, or at least directing them to the right places so they can find out the key facts.
Manage your LinkedIn endorsements to ensure they reflect your skills and experience in the best light for the job. This great blog from BLG Business Solutions on how to manage LinkedIn endorsements explains how.
Are you ready to ask yourself ‘So what?’ and ‘Says who?’? Take the time, before the recruiter does, and stay one step ahead of the game.