Your CV is your first point-of-contact with potential employers, so it’s important to keep it up-to-date, well written and easy to read.
It also needs to be engaging: if you’re sending out your CV regularly but not getting any calls afterwards, a boring CV might be to blame.
If your CV feels outdated, dull or simply needs a make-over, here are five things you can do today to liven it up and start landing those interviews.
Modernize the design
A great way to liven up a dull CV is by making it more physically appealing and engaging. You can do so by adding some creative touches: you can incorporate some color, add some CV icons (such as phone and email icons) and opt for a modern font. If you’re not a photoshop whizz, you can use an online CV builder that will allow you to choose from professional, ready-made CV templates.
While these might simply be aesthetic touches, an engaging CV is much more likely to catch the attention of a potential employer; so, if you want to give recruiters a chance to read over your skills and professional profile, don’t hesitate to add some flair.
Just make sure not to go too crazy with the design; adding wacky colors, a complicated layout, or strange graphics will just make your CV appear unprofessional. When in doubt, leave out anything that makes your CV difficult to read.
Write a powerful profile
When recruiters read your CV, they’re first going to have a quick scan of your CV profile. This is where you have the opportunity to sell yourself and establish your professional profile.
Don’t be afraid to brag about yourself here: remind yourself that your competitors will be doing the same, and that the employer is looking for someone with a track record of getting results. Show off some of your proudest achievements and make sure they’re easy to read and understand. Refrain from too much industry-specific lingo here—facts and figures make the loudest noise on a CV.
You should also use positive language and try to stick to one professional theme. You want to give the impression to the recruiter or employer that you’re an expert in your field, and that they’d be lucky to have you onboard.
Liven up your CV and get noticed by employers
Make it an easy read
Recruiters and employers will be reading hundreds of CVs every week, so you want to do your best to ensure yours gets read, not skipped! One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by making your CV simple and easy to read.
You can enhance your CV readability by splitting up the text, adding borders to separate each section of your CV, and keeping all the important information easily readable and digestible in bullet points or lists. For example, key achievements should be highlighted in their own bullet points, not buried away in a block of text.
You’ll also want to follow a coherent CV structure; your CV should be sectioned correctly, with all the key information in the top half of the page. Don’t forget to also check for typos or errors: a CV littered with spelling mistakes rarely makes a solid impression.
Add some numbers
When writing a CV, a good rule of thumb to follow is “show, don’t tell.” Rather than wasting precious space on your CV listing platitudes about your “productive work ethic” or “proven track record”, give some examples of your track record instead.
The most efficient way to do this is by adding some numbers or figures to your CV. Not only does this back up any claims you’ve made on your CV, but it also helps to demonstrate the value you could bring to a new business or organization (value being the goal of the employer.)
These figures don’t have to be related to profits; you can quantify your value as an employer by how many sales you’ve closed, an increase in website visitors, how many new clients you helped win, or the number of employees you’ve trained.
Adding these figures doesn’t just demonstrate your value, but also proves that you take your role seriously, and that you’re proud of the results you’ve achieved for your previous employers.
Add an interest section
To break up an otherwise serious document, you can add an interests or hobbies section. However, it’s important that this section still adds value to your CV as a whole. When listing hobbies or interests, they need to be relatively impressive to merit taking up space on your CV.
Volunteer work, competitive sports, successful side businesses, creative hobbies, and intellectual pursuits (such as speaking a foreign language) are all CV-appropriate and can add value to your professional profile. Leave anything unimpressive off your CV: hobbies such as “watching TV” or “Twitter” aren’t going to impress a potential employer.
