New year, new challenge? Fancy moving towards your ideal career by enhancing your CV. You could take your online A levels and then look to apply to university. It is possible, in simple steps, to rejuvenate your view of the world of work by enhancing your CV.
If your hopes for the next decade are less lofty, then you might want to hear other ways to enhance your CV. Here we explore how to improve your CV so you can live the future you desire.
Start by reflecting
It might be possible to rewrite your CV without having to do anything too dramatic. You can look back over 2019 and make sure all your jobs and responsibilities are up to date. It is essential in the current jobs market to include all those transferable skills. Your CV needs to speak of your capacity to move quickly between roles. Remember to step outside of work and consider anything you have done for charity or in the community. If your role at work has stagnated a little over the last year, you can emphasise your onward development through these other roles and responsibilities. The extra effort you demonstrate when volunteering or fundraising will enhance your employability, as you show that you are focused on career development.
Have a cull
It would help if you made your CV as compelling as possible. This means your CV needs to be concise and only communicate the information relevant for the company. It would be best if you thought about how recruiters will scan your CV and then get rid of any extraneous detail.
If you are applying for a specific role, you should get rid of anything that does not have a direct bearing on the job you are seeking. It would help if you considered the qualities they are looking for and then emphasise these. Don’t be nostalgic about this. You may have loved your 18 months in the drive-thru at McDonald’s, but now you are a qualified accountant, it is not necessarily that relevant and makes you look a little desperate to show any work experience.
Avoid repetition and make sure the illustration of your skills and experiences are on point. You want to look clear-sighted about your future and avoid any sense of clumsiness.
Make it professional
The way your CV looks is a reflection of your professionalism and competency. Therefore, you need to find a layout that lays the information out clearly and intelligently. The reader should not have to search for information. The use of headings and colours should make it easy to scan for the essential data, as well as tell a good overall story of you.
You can find templates for CVs in Word and other word processing software. Job search websites also offer CV templates that can help you get your information in some order.
You may want to get someone professional to write and layout your CV. The cost will be minimal, but the return on the investment might be your dream job. If you wonder if you need a professional to help you out, pass your CV to friends and family and ask them to say how good or bad your CV appears.
You need feedback on whether the CV grabs them if it was interesting if it took too long to get to the point, if the information was easy to read and relevant and if the tone was appropriate. You do not want to appear sloppy, but neither do you want to sound too smug either.
Consider what your CV for the next year will be
If you cannot do much to enhance your CV from last year, maybe it is time to be proactive. You may need to think creatively about ways to demonstrate and improve desirable skills. You could volunteer or join courses. You could go travelling and seek out experiences that shape you more as a human. In short, imagine the change you want and then consider the action it is going to take to get there. Then, in 2021, when you come to prepare your CV for job applications for your dream role, you can smash your CV with all the right details and evidence.
The important takeaways
The most vital idea to stress is the danger of a sloppy CV to your chances of progressing anywhere. Your future employer might not be a recruitment specialist. Consequently, you might not need someone expert in CV writing to produce your CV. However, you do need to make sure that your CV looks shaped for the job you want. Don’t just rehash an old CV that is slightly adapted. New year, new CV!
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Nick Cooper
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