Writing a Killer CV in the Digital Age

Writing a CV to get you a job is not the same in 2013 as it was in 2003. Never mind getting your CV read for 20 seconds by an actual person; the challenge of creating a successful CV is making it stand out for the scanning software that are used to narrow down a candidate search.

Both employers and recruitment agencies, including The Works, use it as the main way of sourcing the best candidates for a job, so getting your CV in order for this purpose may significantly increase you chances of getting a job that you desperately want.

Set up in the B.C era (before computers) over 21 years ago, The Works have learnt a few simple but MASSIVE tricks that will help you write a CV that will to be seen by your potential boss as we move ever further into the digital age.

Keywords are King:

Qualifications and certificates need to be easy to see. If you have a qualification in butter-churning, make sure that it is easily displayed in your CV as it does on your certificate: e.g ‘NVQ: Butter-Churning Level 3’, not “I have a qualification in Butter Churning” (also, if this is a real qualification, can someone let us know where we can enrol?). The same goes for any technical terms that are appropriate with the job and your experience: e.g “experience in manual and mechanical churning according to the ‘Fritz process’ (that’s a technical butter churning term for those wondering). The more of these you have the more chance your CV will be considered as a good one.

Stay Clear of Fancy Layouts:

While you might think that a fancy layout with lots of different colours and graphics will make you stand out to a potential employer, scanning software isn’t sentimental when it comes to the way a CV looks. Keep your layout simple, with clear breaks for each different section making it easier to ‘read’ by the scanning robots.

Leave Out the Fancy Fonts:

As with the way that you set out your CV, make sure that the fonts you decide to use are just as simple. Stick with a default font that all computers have installed and can read, as there could be a chance that the scanning software may not be able to recognise what you’ve written! As well as this, if your CV does make the cut, it makes it easier to read by an actual human being (which is the ultimate goal). A quick vote around the offices at The Works Recruitment offices sees Arial and Calibri are the best fonts to use, followed by Times New Roman.

So there we have it, three quick tricks that could make your already great CV perfect when applying for jobs online. Let us know if you have any success with these tips by emailing Brad with your results.