I’ve just completed a workshop with some of our junior IT Recruitment Consultants and we identified 7 things you need to remember when you are writing your CV. Getting these things wroing WILL impact negatively on your ability to find a new job – fast.
Money
Be realistic. We really have seen CVs with salary ranges quoted by the candidate between £10k and £100k Come on, if you are on £25k now and would really like £32k then say so – and be realistic. It will help you, the client – and the recruiter cut to the chase.
Continue reading →
Recruitment Cowboys got their name in the late 90′s when they attempted to ruin the superb profession that being a recruiter could be. Professionals go out their way to dispel some of the myths that were created during this time. Some of the processes cowboy recruiters used were to increase THEIR chances of success, not YOURS. Continue reading →
I have spent many hours in the pub discussing the “perfect CV”. Luckily, I am in the enviable position of spending a considerable amount of time viewing CVs as both a recruiter and a client in both permanent and contract recruitment arenas. If you like, I am blessed (tarnished? LOL) with a very balanced view of what each party seems to be looking for. Continue reading →
Download our free sample-cv here.
Top ten tips for your resume / CV:
- No colour please
- Use a font size that works well “on screen” – 11 point Arial seems to work well
- Be consistent where you use Bold and Underline
- Leave a proper margin – at least 1 inch (2.5 cms)
- Leave some room for reviewer comments – use ‘white’ space
- Using email? Think about your subject line and email body text
- Copy your contact details into the email body text
- If you need PDF, use this free generator.
- Don’t use text boxes
- Spell check everything – and ask someone to proof read it
The object of your CV is to make sure that you secure an interview of your choice. It also serves as a prompting tool during the interview.
A CV in the IT world needs to do the business quickly and to the point – but you need depth too. Sure, it must be possible to skim over the document to get a flavour – but it must also be possible to read into some detail.
Did you know that around 80% of CVs, don’t do the job of conveying exactly what roles the candidate is suitable for? Take a long hard look at your CV and turn it into a document that works. Make sure that it says exactly what you do on the tin.
Who invented the two page CV? Certainly not us or our clients. Technology CVs should be like a small chapter – easy to flick through but detail when you want it.
So you are capable of more than one role in industry? Have 2 x CVs! Don’t lie, but be specific on your CV. One CV could be your technical document and one CV for your management experience. Apply for roles with the most appropriate CV.
Tell the story from today – and go backwards. This is reverse chronological order. Use employer names, dates and the functional title that you accomplished along with the hardware, software and skills you utilised. You may have been called the “Global IT Manager”, but if your job was actually doing 2nd & 3rd line support for a 4 branch, 50-man business – make up a title that’s appropriate.
Structure your CV with plenty of white space. Don’t use 5mm margins and tiny font sizes. Think about business documents – they have plenty of headings, bullet points and white space. Copy what works.
If you have any doubts, check out our sample CV from the download section >here<. Use this as a template.
