Recruiters will on average spend less than two minutes reading a CV so your CV must sell you quickly and easily. If you want to get invited to interview, you have to catch their interest at this stage. When a recruiter is going through a pile of hundreds of CVs, only those with the very best CVs will be called back so you need to wow them at the first stage.
Selling yourself is about being positive and persuading others to share this view of you. If you cannot say something in a positive way, consider not saying it at all.
What are employers looking for?
Employers are looking for someone who ‘fits’ in with the organisation. Employers think about ‘fit’ in terms of four different qualities:- Knowledge (Experience & Qualifications)
- Skill (Demonstrated skills you have)
- Abilities (Potential to carry out a range of different tasks beyond your immediate skills or knowledge)
- Attitude (Your personality, your enthusiasm, flexibility and positive approach)
Make sure your CV addresses the advertised position!
Every employer has a ‘prime suspect’ in mind when they advertise a position, and they tend to leave clues to that person’s identity in their job description. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your CV.
Get as much information about the job and company as you can:Every employer has a ‘prime suspect’ in mind when they advertise a position, and they tend to leave clues to that person’s identity in their job description. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your CV.
- Check specific job advertisements
- Check the job description
- Consult a friend in the company
- Check media and press releases
- Find somebody already doing the job or something similar
- Get the annual report/company brochure (Bring to interview)
- Do a Google search
Think WIIFT – What’s In It For Them
Have you already written the following (or similar) in an application?‘I am applying for this position because I have always had an interest in this area and I feel that this position will give me an opportunity to develop my skills and challenge myself, and further my career in this exciting sector’
Have you ever been to a party where you meet someone who only ever talks about themselves? Imagine if you have to read 300 CVs where everyone is talking about themselves. To stand out, this is where you have to be different, and start to think about What’s In It For Them? Thinking WIIFT means that you think about what they are looking for, and then find the best way to tell them that you have those skills. It’s about what you can offer them, and not about what they can offer you.
To emphasise this point, imagine you’re buying a car and you go to a showroom to see different cars and choose one of them to buy. Compare these two sales people:
“Hi, this car is great for you because it’s the perfect size for your commute into work in the morning, it’s incredibly reliable, and it doesn’t use much fuel so you can save the environment and cut down your expenses.”
“Hi, I think you should buy this car because it will help me achieve my sales targets for this month, which means that I will be happy and satisfied in my job and progress in my career.”
Believe it or not, about 70% of personal statements that we see use the second format (‘me me me’). To stand out, you need to use the first – ‘I can offer you this…’, ‘Your team will benefit from my skills in…’ etc.Job advertisement interrogation questions
For any job advertisement you are thinking about applying for, ask yourself the following questions.- What don’t you understand about the job ad?
- What type of industry/company is it? What’s happening in the industry/company? Is it recruiting or expanding?
- What is the main purpose of the role being offered?
- Why is this role important to the company? How will the role affect the company’s bottom line?
- What type of skills do they want? What other skills might be needed given the job’s purpose?
- What type of personal qualities do they want? What other personal qualities might be needed, given the job’s purpose?
- What type of knowledge/training do they want? What other knowledge or training might be needed, given the job’s purpose?
Common Mistakes:
- Forgetting some personally impressive achievements
- Thinking some achievements are not relevant (or failing to make them relevant to the job in question)
- Playing down your achievements (you have a lot of competition so you need to stand out amongst them)
- Including every boring irrelevant detail (swimming certificates?)
