Would You Hire You Based on Your CV Alone?

If you were running one of the top marketing recruitment agencies in Staffordshire and you were looking for the best talent for an important client, would you consider your own CV to be amongst those good enough to impress? It can be difficult to know what part of your CV is going to stand out to potential employers, so it is a good idea to step away from the situation and ask yourself a question. Based on your current CV alone, would you hire you? It can be very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you will get to really sell yourself at the interview and forget that your CV has to sell you first before you get that far. So imagine that there are no interviews and no chances to give fuller explanations about your skills, experience and qualifications. Your CV has to do it all. In taking this approach, one skill you will certainly have to demonstrate is the ability to present detailed information in a concise and compelling manner. Most professionals looking for their next career move will have much more information to share about their career history than will fit on to two sides of A4. So how do you go about selecting and presenting the highlights which will grab the reader’s attention? For any job you apply for, there will be selection criteria that each candidate will need to meet. There may be lists of skills and experience which are essential or desirable, so it is your task to clearly illustrate how you meet all of the requirements. No two jobs will be the same, so be prepared to have more than one version of your CV. You may find that you can repeat some of the sections on skills, experience and qualifications from one application to the next, but make sure that your opening personal statement or summary is clearly tied to the requirements for each specific role. Another danger with CVs and trying to impress is that individuals can exaggerate the extent of their skills and experience. Another test for anything you claim on your CV is to prepare real examples and evidence of where and how you have deployed specific skills. You would be asked to do as much in your interview, so make sure you are prepared. Don’t be afraid to illustrate how your skills might be transferable and therefore relevant, even if they were gained within a different work environment or profession to the one you are applying for. The key is to focus on the competencies required to fulfil tasks and job roles and not just to mirror exact experiences. It is normal for marketing recruitment agencies in Staffordshire to request CVs, and also normal for them to interview you to assess your suitability for different roles and various clients. Again, don’t wait for the interview to show your best. The difference with your CV requirements when registering with marketing recruitment agencies in Staffordshire is that you will need a general overall CV to present the breadth of your capabilities and career history. It should be enough that they can gauge the range of roles they could put you forward for at a glance.