With a two-page limit, careful planning is essential to optimise your use of space.
Imagine you have some sand, pebbles and rocks to put in a jar. If you put the sand and the pebbles in first, you will never manage to cram in the rocks, they simply won’t fit. The sand and pebbles will have occupied valuable space where the rocks should be placed to promote your key skills and experience.
If you think of the rocks as the really important messages that you must
deliver on your CV, then these simply must go in first, on page one. Prioritise your key messages according to what the recruiter needs to know – other information is just white noise.
Pebbles, representing important information, should go in next, fitting around your rocks.
Finally, you can pour the sand, representing the minor details, over the
top, seeing where it can squeeze and fit between the gaps.
Four ways to work your two page CV to show the recruiter that you rock:
1. Jot down a shortlist of the projects, skills and achievements that will rock the recruiter’s boat. Use these as the focal points for your targeted CV.
2. Customise your layout to work each opportunity – bring the most important and relevant sections to the forefront. If you need to sell yourself on education, one particular job, a key project or even experiences outside the workplace, then make sure it is up there on page one.
3. Add a Key Skills section which speaks the recruiter’s language in terms of keywords. Allow them to tick, tick, tick off the job requirements and place your CV in their yes pile.
4. Ditch the unnecessary details. Information overload can detract from the value of what you are saying. Pick your important messages and make sure they shine through. We admit, it can be hard to let go of achievements from your earlier work history, but if the recruiter isn’t going to be interested, then what is the point of including them?
Lis McGuire
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