| Seven tips for writing a compelling CV
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| | By Tony Restell,
Founding Director of
Top-Consultant.com
With the hiring
market swinging firmly
in the favour of the
consulting employer,
candidates are facing up
to the stark reality
that there are now many
more candidates vying
for each consulting job.
In this instalment of
my series on finding a
job during the downturn,
I’d like to give you
some pointers on how to
write a compelling CV
that grabs the attention
of the recruiter – and
propels you to the top
of the “Must Interview”
pile!
Let’s start with that
goal in mind. The
primary purpose of a CV
is to secure you an
interview, not to land
you a job. How you
perform at interview
will determine whether
you get the job or not.
Whether you get the
interview will depend on
how much your CV excites
the recruiter – and
whether it ticks their
boxes in terms of the
profile of hire they are
looking to make. Here
are seven tips to make
sure you’re submitting a
compelling CV that will
excite the recruiter and
tick their boxes:
1. Have you
prominently included a
three to four line
career summary or “sales
pitch” at the beginning
of your CV, to attract
the reader’s attention
and ensure their first
impression is the one
you would want them to
be forming?
2. Have you
adapted this pitch for
each different role you
are applying for, so
that different strengths
have been emphasised
according to the role
requirements? This is
time-consuming, but
investing in ensuring
there’s a great fit
between the recruiter’s | |
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| | key requirements and
their first impressions
of you will pay huge
dividends when it comes
to securing interviews.
3. Do the key
points that you want the
reader to see when they
first open the document
stand out from the
page? If you have a
salary, education or
professional experience
that give your
application instant
credibility, are these
selling points some of
the first things the
reader will see as they
skim down the CV?
4. Have you kept
your CV objective, ie.
talked about
quantifiable and
verifiable achievements,
and kept to a minimum
references to being a
“great team player”,
“excellent leader” and
suchlike (which can be
claimed on paper by all
candidates and as such
will be given little
consideration unless
backed up with hard
facts)?
5. Have you
personalised your email
application so as to
minimise the appearance
that you are
“mass-applying” to
consulting vacancies?
That means both
addressing it to an
individual where
possible but also
avoiding the temptation
to copy and paste a
stock email introduction
into every application.
6. Have you had a
third party look at your
CV to pick out
shortcomings that may be
glaringly obvious but
that you haven’t
noticed? (Seriously, no
matter how good a
candidate you are, this
is worth doing – you’ll
be surprised at what
will jump out from the
page when other people
read your CV.)
7. Have you kept
your CV concise, ideally | |
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| | shrunk down to just one
page? It’s fine to add
supplementary pages that
document your project
experience, client
exposure, assignment
wins, etc. but the core
CV that is showcasing
your academics and
previous experience
should usually be kept
to a page so that a
quick decision can be
reached.
Lastly – and not
strictly a CV-writing
tip – have you spoken
with (ie. sold yourself
to) someone at the
consulting firm or
recruitment firm before
sending them your CV, so
that they are on the
lookout for your
application in their
inbox? This isn’t always
possible, but with the
advent of online alumni
networks and tools such
as LinkedIn, it’s often
possible to track down
someone who will be
involved in the
decision-making process
before your application
is submitted. If someone
is looking out for your
application – or an
existing employee has
been enlisted to forward
your application on to
the recruitment team
with some kind of
endorsement – the
chances of being
interviewed are once
again enhanced.
Related link:
Tony Restell will be
leading a candidate
workshop addressing
every aspect of securing
a new consulting role in
these difficult market
conditions. See:
Revitalising Your
Consulting Career ---
Securing a Career Move
in Consulting in
2009.
To read Tony Restell's
series on finding a job
during the downturn,
visit Top-Consultant's
news page. | |
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