![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-01.cms-eu-v2i.applyflow.com\/identifi-global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NewYearNewYou.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe New Year is often time for a new start. In London alone, <\/span>six out of ten people <\/a>spent January 2017 looking for new jobs. And nationwide, by the end of the month, job applications had grown to 75% above the daily average<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe sheer number of people looking for a fresh start means increased competition for roles – and since most recruiters spend between <\/span>seven<\/a> and thirty<\/a> seconds deciding to put a candidate forward for a role, first impressions are vital.<\/p>\n \n\tA top notch CV looks professional, is easy to read, and presents all of the required information clearly. It\u2019s the sum of its parts, and nailing four key elements – structure, language, length and personalisation – could spell the difference between interview invitations and resigning yourself to a lack of career progression in 2018. <\/p>\n \n\tHow readable is your CV? An <\/span>survey by reed.co.uk<\/a> revealed that logical ordering is employers\u2019 most important consideration when reviewing a CV, and while it might be tempting to mix things up and stand out, any significant deviation from the norm can cause confusion.<\/p>\n \n\tA CV should be easy to navigate, putting key information front and centre. In most cases, we would expect CVs to be headed with the following titles:<\/p>\n \n\tProfile<\/span> <\/strong>\u2013 an introductory paragraph<\/p>\n \n\tCore Professional skills<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 bullet pointed snapshot of your main offerings<\/p>\n \n\tCore Technical Skills<\/strong> – <\/span>bullet pointed snapshot of your main offerings<\/p>\n \n\tEducation\/qualifications<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tCareer history<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 detailed list of your roles<\/p>\n \n\tStructure isn\u2019t just about CV order, though – it\u2019s also important that your CV looks the part. Stick with a simple, professional font like Calibri or Verdana, keep your headings consistent in their size and bolding. and include plenty of white space. All of these elements will give your CV a clear structure that is easy to navigate.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile structure and content are important to any CV, poor use of the English language is the biggest turn-off for employers. A <\/span>survey by New College of the Humanities<\/a> revealed employers\u2019 top three CV hates are typos\/grammatical errors, an overly casual tone, and use of jargon\/clich\u00e9s. <\/p>\n \n\t \n\tThat means knowing your \u2018your\u2019 from your \u2018you\u2019re\u2019 and the difference between \u2018their\u2019 and \u2019there\u2019. Overfamiliarity – \u2018cheers\u2019 or \u2018you guys\u2019 – is a no no, and clich\u00e9d phrases like \u2018thinking outside of the box\u2019 and \u2018passion for my work\u2019 are off the table. <\/p>\n \n\tSuch basics may seem obvious, but it\u2019s surprising how many CVs land on our desks with these simple errors. This despite the fact that 24% of surveyed candidates claimed they have \u201cexcellent written communication skills\u201d. <\/p>\n \n\tBe sure to spell-check and proof-read carefully – enlisting the help of others if needed – and remember:<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tKeep your language positive. <\/span>Positive action words like \u2018chaired\u2019, \u2018controlled\u2019 or \u2018co-ordinated\u2019<\/a> will convey a can-do attitude.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n\t\t\tAvoid waffling. <\/span>Keep things concise and to the point.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n\t\t\tInclude keywords. <\/span>Many recruiters will be scanning CVs for keywords that demonstrate relevant skills – and some even use CV scanning software to highlight these terms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n\tSome say that a CV should be kept to one page – but if your career history spans decades, this isn\u2019t always possible. Length shouldn\u2019t be your focus. Instead, be concise: understand what is required and what isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \n\tFor example, any roles over 10 years old are generally not relevant. Add your employment dates and employer information, but feel free to remove all the other details. We would advise to stick to 3 or 4 pages maximum: anything longer suggests waffle and over-selling.<\/p>\n \n\tYou should also make sure the top of your CV works hard to capture attention fast. A personal profile that gives your \u2018elevator pitch\u2019 will set out your suitability for the role upfront: be sure to include elements like industry experience, the calibre of past employers, your education and qualifications, and the key benefits your work has brought to past employers.<\/p>\n \n\tYour CV will no doubt already be tailored to your role and industry – but are you tailoring your application for individual employers too? A <\/span>National Careers Service survey<\/a> revealed that two-thirds of careers advisors cited a lack of tailoring as a key factor in failing to secure a new position. <\/p>\n \n\tEvery single role for which you apply will have specific requirements: skills that are favoured over others, vital qualifications for the role, a minimum level of education. Highlighting the specifics of the role for which you are applying in your personal profile allows the recruiter or employer to see your suitability at a glance, and proves you have read the job profile and thought about how you fit it.<\/p>\n \n\tA new year always brings with it thoughts of a new start – and your CV should be no different. With a few simple tweaks and revisions, your CV could transform an employer\u2019s view of you from ugly duckling to beautiful swan, securing you that interview you\u2019ve been dreaming of.<\/p>\n \n\tAt identifi global, we\u2019re fully focused on ensuring that our candidates are matched with the roles that best suit their skills and needs. Find out how we helped Monique Duarte <\/span>to secure her perfect product manager role<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t <\/p>\n \n\tImages via <\/span>Pixabay<\/a> and Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New Year is often time for a new start. In London alone, six out of ten people spent January 2017 looking for new jobs. And nationwide, by the end of the month, job applications had grown to 75% above the daily average. The sheer number of people looking for a fresh start means increased… Read More »New year, new you: four ways to get your CV 2018 ready<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\tStructural success<\/h2>\n
\n\tLook at the language<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-01.cms-eu-v2i.applyflow.com\/identifi-global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Language.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n\tToo much, or not enough?<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n\t“We would advise to stick to 3 or 4 pages maximum.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\tTake time to tailor<\/h2>\n