As an employer – when presented with a multitude of CV’s online, that all look remarkably similar and wordy and having to read these around your busy day job, it is no surprise that great people get missed in these processes.CV reviews often become a reluctantly undertaken task and are not attended to with the rigour and desired investment to find that value add employee ,to next join the business.
From a job seeker perspective – Finding a new job is a full time job in itself (as anyone who has recently had to do so will tell you) and putting together a CV and talking about yourself is often a painful process, which fills some with anxiety. For others with a desire to self inflate and engage overused language and phrases to do so. (which very rarely represents the individual in their true essence).
CV ‘s add minimal value in the recruitment process and very rarely reflect a person’s key differentiators and very near to never demonstrate intrinsic drivers which lead to high performance and the identification of achievement focused individuals.
This said – it is widely accepted that without a CV you will not get a job interview – there are a few things to avoid when creating your CV:
1. Overuse of language that over used and non specific eg: ‘passionate’, ‘professional’
2. Ill considered or unprofessional fonts/ graphics
3. Heavy text context/ long sentences and no bullet points or subject headings
4. Black and white and avoidance of colour
5. Technical information only and no personality or information about key wins, projects and value you bring to the role and business, with specific measurables and outcomes missing
6. Generic and not tailored for the audience and opportunity
Personally I would like to see CV’s become less important in making decisions about who to interview and rather time and energy invested in experts like ourselves understanding the fundamental traits and behaviours that we know are required in our changing work environments.As business and new roles evolve, outside the box thinking around how you represent yourself and stand out in the crowd is becoming ever more important and this extends to working with carefully selected and trusted partners/advisors
.With technology enhancements and an evolving work environment. online profiles, such as linked in are becoming more important to review and update regularly, to promote your personal brand and expertise.
These social channels are often viewed before a CV and simultaneously and need to reflect your unique personal brand.
A CV’s fundamental purpose is to show case experience and technical skills and in this regard, a CV can be a useful starting block for conversations however, in my humble opinion, offers very little else.
As a recruitment and coaching business – we spend time and energy connecting and investing in the psychology and behavioural traits that lead to high performing individuals and align this with client organisations which will relish, support, challenge and grow these individuals in their next steps. We do this through a number of different methods and with genuine interest in people and their goals.
As an employer (we have been there) – there is nothing worse than spending hours trawling through CVs and trying to establish who you wish to short list or interview from a number of people that look similar in their skills and experience and often include generic overviews about who the person is and why they are interested in the role, which is not personalised.
Even with the most creative and targeted CV ( video or otherwise)can still completely mis represent the individual and is not reflective of how they engage, perform or engage personally and what motivates and inspires them, nor is this any indication of future success.
As recruitment experts, CV’s will often be the last thing presented with our client partners before interview because the value lies (and the reason our client’s engage us) in the ability to discover what lies beneath the surface and demonstrate tangible value and alignment to their org/animation and roles and simultaneously the value that the individual will gain from the experience and being a part of your business.
‘People partner with organisations now they do not work for them’ and this requires a different lens on both how to attract them and retain them and jointly as a job seeker on how you represent and stand it in the crowd.
For further support and dialogue on how to take your next steps or for employers – how you source achievement focused individuals talk to us today.
A CV’s fundamental purpose is to show case experience and technical skills and in this regard, a CV can be a useful starting block for conversations however, in my humble opinion, offers very little else.
As a recruitment and coaching business – we spend time and energy connecting and investing in the psychology and behavioural traits that lead to high performing individuals and align this with client organisations which will relish, support, challenge and grow these individuals in their next steps. We do this through a number of different methods and with genuine interest in people and their goals.
As an employer (we have been there) – there is nothing worse than spending hours trawling through CVs and trying to establish who you wish to short list or interview from a number of people that look similar in their skills and experience and often include generic overviews about who the person is and why they are interested in the role, which is not personalised.
Even with the most creative and targeted CV ( video or otherwise)can still completely mis represent the individual and is not reflective of how they engage, perform or engage personally and what motivates and inspires them, nor is this any indication of future success.
As recruitment experts, CV’s will often be the last thing presented with our client partners before interview because the value lies (and the reason our client’s engage us) in the ability to discover what lies beneath the surface and demonstrate tangible value and alignment to their org/animation and roles and simultaneously the value that the individual will gain from the experience and being a part of your business.
‘People partner with organisations now they do not work for them’ and this requires a different lens on both how to attract them and retain them and jointly as a job seeker on how you represent and stand it in the crowd.
For further support and dialogue on how to take your next steps or for employers – how you source achievement focused individuals talk to us today.