Given the economic climate and the increased competitiveness for jobs it is essential that you do everything in your power to give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding. A CV is the first thing that will get you an interview, so it must be perfect in design and execution. If you are to create a positive impression then your grammar, punctuation, spelling and expression must be perfect to show the potential employer that you can be relied upon in the workplace, that you have a close attention to detail and that you really want the job. CV writing is a creative process and will take many hours to perfect. Aim to spend at least 10 hours on your CV to really make it the best that it can be. You will probably need many more hours of research before you actually start writing it, but when you do create a document that really does yourself justice it will be time well spent and make a significant difference to your career prospects.
CV Effectiveness
The effectiveness of your CV can only really be judged according to the career you are focusing on. There are things that you can do to target your CV specifically to your chosen industry and you need to mention all of the attributes needed for working in your particular role. To really target your CV it cannot be generalized, you must completely concentrate on the role that you want and highlight all of your skills to fit well with that position. If you decide to target another industry then your CV would need to be rather different and I would suggest re-writing the whole thing. A good idea is to write up to 3 different CVs if you want to apply for three slightly different jobs. This is to optimize your chances by being specific and using existing experience in a way that can illustrate your suitability for the job. They basically have most of the same information but it is written in a completely different way and some skills were emphasized for a particular role. This really targets your CV and makes all of your experience and training as relevant as it can be.
A good idea would be to look at the company’s website if they have one.
· What is their mission statement?
· What kind of people do they employ?
· Would you fit in well with this company?
· Do you have the required skills and experience?
· Do you know the company inside out?
· Are you passionate about what they do?
Another tip is to look at the job advertisement and the things that the company expects from an employee. Of course it is essential that you do not lie or fabricate experience just to make it fit in with what they are looking for as this is dishonest practice and will soon be found out by an employer if they call you for interview. You must always be truthful about your qualifications and experience, but this method of checking all job requirement son an advertisement is effective as it may have mentioned some things that you wouldn’t have thought were important, but you know you can do. It may also act as a springboard for you to pick out other qualities that you possess that would be useful in that role.
It is also important to not just write out the requirements of the role as it is written on the advertisement as this will appear lazy to an employer and they will suspect that you are merely copy and pasting skills that you don’t necessarily have. If you find it difficult to express yourself in a different way and are trying to say the same thing, you could try a good thesaurus to make your sentences ‘active’ and full of buzzwords. Or perhaps you could get one of your friends or your family to read over it and give you their opinions. It is always best to have as much feedback on your CV as possible so that you can pick and choose what are good and bad ideas. Try to be subjective about your CV and not take advice and comments personally. See it as a piece of work that you have to analyze and try to be as picky and negative as possible as this will only be to your benefit in the long run. If you eradicate as many weaknesses as you possibly can at this stage then you will only have a better chance of gaining an interview. Be critical with yourself to be good to yourself.
When asking friends or family to read over your CV, get them to answer a few questions that will help you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your CV better.
· How is this CV different from others that you have read?
· How would you make it stand out form hundreds of others?
· What is boring and predictable about my CV?
· What are the negative and positive aspects of my CV?
· What was your initial impression of my template?
· Do you think that it is relevant and targets my chosen industry/job role?
Create sentences that really appeal to an employer and illustrate your passion for the job. There is nothing a potential employer hates more than picking up another monotone and predictable CV, especially if they have over 300 of them to read! Show the reader that you are confident, enthusiastic and capable. Demonstrate that you are someone that they would love to work with and be part of their team. If the tone of your CV sounds as though you are bored and don’t really have any self- belief, it will be extremely difficult for the reader to picture you in the role. Don’t give them any reason to doubt your sincerity or aptitude for the job, make them want to hire you before someone else gets you.
If you are in any doubt as to whether your CV is doing the job that you want it to then have a look at friends’ or colleagues’ CVs as you might find ideas that you never even thought of. There are also many sites on the web that give you examples of effective and ineffective CVs before you start your own. Take a look at CV Consultancies too who offer free professional CV appraisals and reviews. When you have the right information from the outset, it will eradicate any self-doubt that you may initially have and give you the added confidence to write a CV that will be effective and get you the job that you want.
Kamaxi Overseas Consultants is a leading hospitality recruitment Agency specializing in hotel jobs across the Middle East & Canada. If you are looking to hire foreign workers from India, Nepal, Philippines & SriLanka. Kamaxi Overseas Consultants is the manpower recruitment agency you Should contact. We are a licensed overseas recruitment agency by the Govt of India For recruitment of Indian workers.