Improving your CV
Crafting a CV can be a daunting task, especially when translating one’s experience into a format that appeals to potential employers. Providing tailored advice for an individual’s CV without reviewing the document can be challenging, but the following tips can guide you in the right direction. Contrary to popular belief, creating a custom CV for every job application is unnecessary. Based on personal experimentation, the level of customization does not significantly impact the response from recruiters. Unless your experience is exceptionally diverse or you’re applying to roles with very varied requirements, such as Product Manager and Sales, the effort required for customization is not justified. Networking, as discussed in our Networking series, is often a more worthwhile investment of your time.
The following bullet points offer proven advice to enhance your CV:
Consider incorporating a summary at the top of your CV to provide recruiters with an overview of your overall experience. For individuals who have held multiple titles or roles within a single company, including summaries for each company to describe your journey can ensure clarity on your experience.
Quantify achievements whenever possible, utilizing numbers and percentages to highlight the impact of your work. For example, instead of stating “improved sales,” specify “increased sales by 15% within six months.”
Use action verbs at the beginning of each sentence, such as Analyzed, Designed, Led, Strategized, etc.
Present each idea in a single line to enhance readability and clarity.
If you’re more than one year post-graduation, relocate your education section to the bottom of the page.
Ensure consistent margins for each line item; an organized CV is crucial to avoid missing potential interview opportunities.
ZealAdvisory has developed a template that you can duplicate and personalize with your information and details. Once you fill in this information, mark the border colors as white to hide them from view. This cv-template merely serves to keep everything lined up correctly.
For comprehensive CV reviews, ZealAdvisory offers can provide support. This includes a live feedback meeting to discuss your goals and outcomes, along with targeted feedback on improving your CV.
