Last week, our friends at Find Share Connect shared some sound and actionable CV advice on Facebook as part of their #CVSpringClean. Alan and Dan rounded up the day by reminding followers that 8.8 seconds is the time it takes for a person to look at your CV. This fact was derived from research conducted by the UK’s youth programme, National Citizen Service, and based on the time recruiters now take to review entry level CV applications.
8.8 seconds. Not long, when you really think about it. To put the fleeting timeframe in context, I started playing around with the timer on my Samsung Galaxy, working out what was and was not possible in just under nine seconds. Then, when my family got bored with this craziness, I consulted Google.
I offer you my findings. Nine things that take less than nine seconds.
#1 It turns out that I can run up 25 stone steps. I put some welly into it but, in my defence, it was after a day of intense walking. It won’t surprise you to learn that the fitter members of my family could manage more.
#2 I can tie one shoelace. Again, not very impressive. I was all fingers and thumbs!
#3 I can eat three cheese balls. You know, cheese balls, those maize-based spherical crisps that appear at Christmas each year. My efforts were heckled and, by comparison, turned out to be pretty pathetic. Let’s just say I won’t be invited to a competitive eating event anytime soon!
#4 I can put an umbrella up and down. If you are superstitious and fretting, don’t worry, it was outside!
#5 I can insert my debit card and enter my pin number. I’m not sure the assistant at Pret A Manger knew what on earth was going on!
Number five sent my family over the edge, so I resorted to Google to identify four more activities that take less than nine seconds.
#6 Usain Bolt can run at least 85 metres, on the basis that he achieved the 100 metres gold medal for his 9.63 second time at the London 2012 Olympics.
#7 A rodeo cowboy can complete a qualified ride, the length of which is just eight seconds. (Source: http://rodeo.about.com/od/faqs/f/why8seconds.htm)
#8 The 0-60mph time of a Ford Escort XR3i MK4 (1986) is 8.8 seconds. Who knew? (Source: http://www.autosnout.com/0-60-Times/0-60mph-in-less-than-9-seconds.php)
#9 In August 2014, Karim Bellarabi earned his place in the record books by scoring the fastest ever Bundesliga goal. Within just nine seconds, the Bayer Leverkusen player found the back of the net and set his team for a win against Borussia Dortmund.
Some of these feats are truly amazing, given the nine second timeframe. Others less so (ahem). Impressive or not, the time they were completed in, nine seconds or less, is not long at all. That’s all the time your CV will have to win over the reader. In that fleeting time, the person reading your CV will have made a decision, one way or another, about your credentials and employability.
It can seem unfair, given the amount of time that it takes to craft your CV, and even worse when you consider the time it takes to acquire the skills and experience which form the building blocks of your CV.
Unfair or not, 8.8 seconds is the reality of today’s recruitment landscape. Accept the time limit and adapt accordingly, or accept that your CV will be tossed aside.
Lis McGuire
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