The Secrets of a Successful CV
Many people believe that it is a good thing to ‘big up’ their skills and achievements to impress a prospective employer, but this is simply not true. An honest CV which shows your career progression will have much more chance of success.
The important thing to remember is the purpose for which you are going to use your CV. In 90% of cases this is to support a job application. So what sort of job are you going to be applying for? I think you will agree that there would be little point in trying to get a job for which you are not qualified. Neither you nor your employer would be very happy with. So when writing your CV make sure that you rely upon what you actually have to offer without making any exaggerated claims.
When you use your CV in support of a job application the person considering it will probably have a huge number of applications to wade through. This is not such a problem as it at first appears when you consider what the opposition is likely to be. It is a well known fact that in the first instance an employer will only spend about 30 seconds for a preliminary appraisal of each candidate. The trick is in getting past that first hurdle.
Many of the applications will be from people who are obviously not suited to the job on offer. Many of the CVs will appear messy and unattractive so they will also be discarded. Others will be so long and complicated that reading them is a daunting prospect for a busy person, so they are also likely to be discarded.
Make sure you use an attractive and clear layout which is businesslike and doesn’t include any unnecessary tricks or gimmicks. Prioritise the information so that the reader can gain a good impression as soon as possible. Present the information as clearly as you can. Avoid unnecessary detail and above all remember that the prospective employer is not interested in you as a person, only in what you can bring to his organisation.
If you remember these golden rules and make sure that you apply for jobs which are appropriate to your skills and experience, you will succeed in getting interviews and the rest is then up to you.
© This article is copyright CV Writing Services 2007. You have permission to reproduce this article or forward it to others, provided that all links and the resource box at the bottom remain intact.
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Gwyneth Holland is a specialist in
professional CV Writing
You can read more of her articles and get excellent advice on CV writing at:
http://www.cv-writingservices.co.uk
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