create your best cv

101 Top CV Tipsby Paul HichensTop UK CV Specialist

Paul Hichens is a leading CV specialist. In addition to vast experience helping clients globally with their CVs as head of top firm CVSucceed.co.uk Paul is the author of the most pioneering CV book in decades, The One Page CV (published by top career sector publishers Pearson Education).

More details about the book and author can be found by clicking this link.

You can view the tips below...

Preface:Most CV tips compilations are pretty standardised, and say pretty much the same thing. One of the main reasons for this is that frequently the people who write them are not actual CV writing professionals and so often just recycle tips from other (non-specialist) sources.

These tips, on the other hand, are written by a bona fide top professional CV writer, with genuine expertise and years of real hands-on experience helping people from all walks of life dramatically improve their CVs and ultimately their job prospects. The author is always in demand, and clients come to him for help from all around the world; many by personal recommendation.

First of all some tips about tips!

©Copyright Paul Hichens 2013. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.cvsucceed.co.uk/cv-book

1 2 Clear your mind of any previous advice you have had, together with any preconceptions about what you should or shouldn't be doing. A lot of standard advice is very much that; and much of it is contradictory, flawed or counter-productive.

At the same time, not all standard advice is bad. Some of it is good. The trick is sorting out the good from the bad. How do you do that?

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3 4If you're not sure how useful particular advice is (or otherwise), then one thing you can do is do little bit of research before implementing it.

One thing you should bear in mind is the experience and credentials of the person giving the advice. For example, some of the CV advice on the Internet has been cobbled together by Web content writers and SEO techies, rather than real career sector professionals. Moreover, even when a particular piece of CV advice comes from a career sector professional, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is any good; after all, not all career sector professionals write CVs (let alone day in day out), and very few at all have conducted even the slightest bit of research on what works best and doesn't with CVs.

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5 6If the advice is original and has been written by a genuine career sector professional, then any professional career advisor worth his/her salt should be happy to put his/her name to it. If they don't, this could indicate that perhaps the advice isn't original, the author isn't sure of it, or it has been written by a non-career sector professional. Just be aware of that.

If the author gives details of his/her website, then you can check it out.

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7 8If they have a website then ask yourself does it look professional? Are there any good (and genuine) testimonials? And significantly - is the website well-written?!

Bear in mind that lots of career sector professionals, including many of those who advise others on CVs, do not even write their own CVs, but instead engage professional CV consultants to do the job properly for them. Just because someone puts an advisor’s hat on it doesn’t necessarily make them an expert in the subject. With many career sector ‘advisors’ all it frequently means is that once upon a time someone told them what they thought should/shouldn’t be included on a CV – many advisors therefore are merely messengers regurgitating the same old standard (and frequently flawed) information. Surprisingly few ‘advisors’ have done any real research about what works best on CVs.


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9 10Okay on to the main CV writing tips now (tips that are based on real research and years of genuine CV writing experience!)...

Whilst this may sound strange starting point, the first thing you really should do before writing your CV, is to stop and think.

And the first thing you need to think about is your target. Just what job are you targeting?

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11 12It helps if you can further sub categorise this - what level of job are you targeting? Is it a career change?

These are relevant questions because you need to adapt the way you write, depending upon the level and nature of your target. So hone in on your target and focus.

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13 14Once you have a better idea about your target, the next step is to think about your strategy for the CV. And yes you did hear right - strategy!

Think about the employer, and consider what he/she will be looking for in a candidate.


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15 16Similarly, think about whether or not the employer has any specific criteria/preconceptions about what they are looking for in a CV.

Most employers won't mention specific requirements for a CV in their job specification, but some do so just beware. If something specific is mentioned then you should adhere to it. Check the advertisement and/or specification just in case.

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17 18For example, on rare occasions employers might ask you to write using a specific CV format, or include certain information on your CV. However, as mentioned most employers don't do this and give you more of a free reign. In which case, talking of format you should use the most effective format.

Take a look at your CV and assess just how good/bad the format is.

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19 20Don't take a long look at it - you need to put yourself in the employer's shoes, and do what he/she will do, and sum up your first general impressions within just a few short seconds.

Be honest with yourself.


Assess it for 5 or 6 seconds maximum.

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21 22Ask yourself whether it is too long? Ask yourself whether it is too cluttered?

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23 24Ask yourself whether it is too complicated? Ask yourself whether it makes a good or bad first

impression?

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25 26Ask yourself if you think the presentation is good enough?

If any of the above questions give you cause for concern, then you need to address this. There is no point sending off a flawed CV for job applications. Competition for jobs is extremely strong these days and you need the best possible CV, even second-best will not suffice.

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27 28If your CV is too long then you need to shorten it. Ideally you should aim for two pages maximum, and if you can write a powerful one page CV, then all the better. Nothing stands out more than a well presented and well-written one page CV - although admittedly one page CVs are the hardest of all CVs to write – and especially those that simultaneously do a great job of selling your skills - which is why many (although not all) professional CV writers/companies struggle to do it properly.

If your CV is too cluttered then there are several things you can do to help this, these include changing format, writing more concisely, increasing the whitespace, and removing or consolidating some entries. So consider your options.

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29 30If you want to change format then you could have a look at some CV templates. Just be aware that some CV templates (even pretty looking ones) are counter-productive and can adversely affect the way your message gets across. So be very careful about which CV template you choose.

If you want to write more concisely then this is actually quite a specialist skill, and it doesn't come to most people naturally, particularly if you want to write concisely yet powerfully - which you need to if you want the best CV. If you do feel you need help in this respect, then The One Page CV not only covers this in detail, but also provides practical sessions for you to develop and hone your concise writing skills. Please note that the ability to write effectively yet concisely is not just useful for CV writing, but it is also a valued skill that you can use to your advantage in many areas (both professionally and personally).


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31 32If you decide that increasing the whitespace is an option, then you can do this is by changing format, reducing font size, increasing CV length, or amending/removing entries. At the same time just be aware that there are dangers associated with all of the above. So you need to prioritise and decide which solution is best for your particular circumstances.

If you decide that removing some entries is a good option for you, then just be aware that you need to sell yourself on your CV, and that by removing entries you may well be eating into your sales message.

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33 34At the same time, a lot of people have repetition on their CV, and it can often be advantageous to remove any of the repetition. So another tip is to check your CV for too much repetition.

But before you act, it is usually a good idea to assess and weigh up the pros and cons of removing or retaining a particular entry.

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35 36If you identified that your CV was too complicated, try to work out why this is.

For example, ask yourself if it lists too many jobs? Is sending out too many mixed messages? Does it have incomplete or confusing dates? Is it


missing any information? Or anything else?

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37 38The next step is for you to have a think of possible solutions.

When thinking of solutions think flexibly, don't just do what typical standard advice would have you do - remember that standard advice is inflexible and is frequently flawed.

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39 40So the next tip is to be creative if need be! For example if your CV lists too many jobs, then

think about ways in which you can refine these down or consolidate them. There are very effective ways and means of doing this; again for more details please consult The One Page CV, in addition to explanations it also gives you hands-on practical sessions to show you how to do it properly.

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41 42Similarly, if you are sending out mixed messages this is only going to confuse the employer. You need to send out a strong,

Many advisers will encourage you to concentrate your message on what you have done previously. However, such thinking is not


focused and very clear message. So give this serious consideration and act accordingly.

effective when it comes to job applications. So the next tip is to think dynamically, rather than statically and historically.

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43 44Think about what the employer is looking for, and then think about what you have done or achieved that fits in with this expectation.

Going back to the issues raised in tip number 36, if your current CV has confusing dates then this is something you should address. One thing which may help is to exclude months. You are not usually obliged to include the start/end month of each job.

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45 46Again going back to tip number 36, if anything is missing you should consider adding it. Please note the word ‘consider.’ Just because it is missing it doesn't necessarily mean you should add it.

This leads us on to our next tip - make sure that all of the entries on your CV are actually worth including. It sounds obvious, but some people don't realise this (including some recruiters I might add!).

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47 48While we are still on the subject of the way Okay, let's not assume that you have fixed any


your CV looks, another tip is to have a look at it from a very general perspective. Does it all look in line? Is there anything which stops it from looking neat and presentable? A lot of people present CVs which look okay in the main part, but which have minor formatting errors. It may not sound like much, but all these little errors add up, and you really should address them.

potential problems with the way your CV looks. Let's go on to other significant factors. One key revelation is that although the way your CV looks is important, your actual CV content is far more important. Good presentation will help get your CV noticed, but it's the actual content which determines whether the employer puts your application on the short list or in the reject pile.

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49 50The next step is just to think about just what is good content, and then re-read your CV with that thought in mind.

Consider if your CV content is relevant to the job?

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51 52Read it out aloud and ask yourself if it flows well. If it doesn't then you need to revise it until it does.

The most obvious thing that people check when it comes to CV content is the spelling. And candidates have been known to lose out on jobs because of spelling alone. If you are unsure about the spelling then use a spellchecker.

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53 54Similarly, double-check your grammar, and use a grammar checker if necessary.

At the same time, there is far more to good content than just spelling and grammar, so the next thing you need to do is look at your grammar/wording in more detail, and evaluate it.

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55 56Is it is too long winded? If so then you need to refine/rephrase it down accordingly.

Is it is too complicated? If so then one tip is to break it down into smaller entries, or into new/revised sections.

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57 58If you are not already using bullet points, then you should do so. Bullet points help in the delivery of your message. The most effective way of presenting achievements is using neat single line bullets. That said, refining your achievements down to just one line per achievement, is far easier said than done. There are methods that you can use to achieve this, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. However, if you want to discover how to do it then The One Page CV

Does the content sell you enough? If not then you need to substantiate it.


shows you with easy to follow examples.

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59 60Selling yourself on paper isn't easy, and this is one reason why the likes of HR executives, recruiters and career advisers engage professional writers to do the job properly for them - really it is a specialist skill. Again The One Page CV shows you how to do it via clear practical sessions, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye and so is beyond the scope of this limited text. At the same time several further tips for starters are included below;

One important tip is to remember that your competitors will be selling themselves to the hilt. So you need to do so too.

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61 62Never omit impressive achievements out of a false sense of modesty.

You may have heard of buzz words or action words. Some advisers scoff at these, however, they are significant and if used properly they can help your cause. Just be aware that if you use keywords and phrases then firstly they should be the kind of things that the employer is looking for, and secondly you need to use them naturally, rather than artificially.

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63 64A good way to see if you have included them naturally or not is to simply read out your sentences out loud. If you have not weaved your keywords into your text properly the net result is that it usually sounds too artificial. In which case you need to revise it.

Many people make a point of listing all their job roles on their CV. And a lot of recruiters (and especially those who have done no research on CV writing whatsoever) will advise you to do just that. However, one danger of including all your job roles on a CV is that you tend to come across as someone who is capable, rather than an achiever. So just remember that well-written achievements out-trump job roles.

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65 66Another tip that many recruiters don't seem to realise, is that you can actually tell the employer what you do (i.e. your job roles), but in a more proactive format (i.e. achievements). Obviously, it is harder to write an achievement than to simply list a job role, but there are ways and means of doing this well, again these are fully documented in The One Page CV.

Another thing which a lot of advisers (especially those who haven't done any research on CVs) don't seem to realise is that the way your achievements are presented influences their effectiveness (or otherwise). So for example your message can come across far more clearly in neat and legible sentences than it ever will in long and cluttered paragraphs. So when you think about selling yourself, you are better off thinking about selling yourself in a concise manner.

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67 68Logically therefore it makes sense to look at any paragraph in your CV, and to consider refining it down if necessary. Again, just be careful how you do this, as you have to strike the right balance.

Examining other aspects of content, let us now look at certain sections of the CV. The first one is usually your contact details. As amazing as this sounds not everyone includes correct or up-to-date contact details on their CV. Just make sure you double-check yours!

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69 70The next section for most people is typically the profile or objectives section. Noticeably, there is no common consensus amongst advisors on this (and numerous other) key CV issues/choices. Arguably the main reason why there is no common consensus on key issues is because an awful lot of standard CV writing practices are based on myths rather than research, logic and rationale. The One Page CV exposes the myths and gives you the logic to help you make more informed decisions.

Talking of profiles, remember that your profile is meant to be concise, try to keep it at five lines maximum.

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71 72©Copyright Paul Hichens 2013. All Rights Reserved.

As with all aspects of your CV, write your profile with your target in mind. You should be aiming to whet the employer’s appetite, so it needs to be punchy, pertinent and powerful.

Typically the next section is your work achievements section. A very big tip is not to underestimate this section, as it is the most important part of your CV.

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73 74Most people's work achievements sections are either too basic or too complicated. You need to strike the right balance. It helps if you ask yourself the following;

Is the section too long? If it is then refine it down.

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75 76Does it come across as rather basic? If so then you should wrack your brains to think about things that you have done that will impress the employer.

If you get stuck, even just have a think about what you did well.

Ask yourself if you have been praised for anything? If so what?

Have you won any awards? If so consider including these.

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77 78Ask yourself if you have been praised for anything? If so what?

Have you won any awards? If so consider including these.

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79 80Some people (including some recruiters) are under the impression that the most effective CVs are those which include the longest achievements section. However, the reality is very different. So think in terms of quality rather than quantity.

Never lose sight of the fact that your CV needs to be of relevance to the employer, this applies in all areas of your CV including your work experience section.

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81 82If your content comes across as a bit too complicated then consider why. For many people the problem lies in the way they have written it. There are pretty much infinite ways of saying anything, so if your content is a bit too complicated the first port of call is to try to rephrase things. If you try that and don't see an immediate improvement, then you could consider getting professional help. You would be by no means the first to do so. Not everyone is a natural writer, and it isn't easy

Another reason why some people end up with long and complicated work experience sections is because they are under the false impression that they need to separate out and include each and every job role that they had ever done on their CV. This just isn't the case. On the contrary, it is a complete myth. Yes, you may get the odd lesser recruiter quoting the myth - if so just remember that the recruiter is just the middleman, and it is the employer who is the


to write clearly, powerfully and eloquently on paper. Moreover, you would be surprised at just how many HR executives for example engage professional CV writers to write their CV. Indeed, jobseekers at all levels and in all sectors hire professional CV consultants to give them the edge over their competitors. If you hire a top quality CV consultant it can frequently turn out to be a very good investment. Of course, the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ applies so expect to spend £100-200+. It may sound like a lot, but a top quality CV can pay for itself time and time again (although the same doesn't apply with an average or even a good CV).

real decision maker.

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83 84Fortunately, not all recruiters are stuck in the dark ages, and some do understand CVs more than others. So if you are being badly advised by a particular recruiter, one thing you could consider is simply use a different one. Another good alternative is to apply direct to employers’ advertisements, or via job boards. If you do this you have the added advantage of being able to tweak your CV to the job.

Part of tweaking your CV with the employer in mind includes weaving relevant things and achievements in to your CV. If you do this, then just like keywords, remember to do it naturally, rather than artificially.

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85 86The next section on a CV is typically the Similarly, you are under no obligation to list


qualifications section. A particularly useful tip here is that regardless of what certain lesser recruiters will tell you, you are under no obligation to list each and every course or qualification.

every grade. Again, think about relevancy, and think about what the employer wants to hear.

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87 88Another tip is to include professional training if appropriate. Please note the term ‘if appropriate.’ There is no value in listing all your software programming skills if you are applying for a job as a sous chef.

This leads on to another relevant issue. Try to keep your CV as jargon free as possible. Many HR executives do not appreciate jargon.

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89 90Similarly try to avoid overuse of acronyms, and in particularly less familiar acronyms.

As mentioned, some standard advice is good (whereas a lot of it is flawed). Some good standard advice includes the need to your CV to be no longer than two pages, and also the following;

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91 92Be honest Don't over exaggerate


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93 94At the same time a lot of standard advice includes (as mentioned) many myths including the need to include gender, marital status, driving ability etc. Other myths include ;

The need to include company profiles (so ignore this myth).

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95 96The need to include all previous jobs roles, each separated out (so ignore this myth).

The need to write rigidly to a set format. If you do that you will come unstuck, because each job is different, and you will find that the best results come when you approach each application flexibly.

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97 98


Some recruiters will have you believe that employers are fixated upon every tiny trivial little thing on your CV, such as whether or not you include every last IT programme you are familiar with. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Employers are primarily concerned about the big important things you do include, rather than the tiny less relevant things you don't. Just remember that.

Another important thing to remember then is that before you implement any advice you should weigh up the consequences, as sometimes these can be counterproductive. Advisers with little or no CV writing experience usually do not understand (or even consider) the knock-on effects of certain suggestions. So if you follow some advice willy-nilly you may end up with a CV that is e.g. too long, too cluttered, and too confusing to be effective when put in front of a real employer.

99 100Another tip is to check out for this kind of thing yourself. So when you make a change, double-check that you haven't made anything else worse. It's actually a very common thing for people to do, and a lot of the time they don't even realise they have done it.

Talking of making changes, remember that your CV is a dynamic document, and it should change through time, and especially when you are applying for new (and different) jobs.

101 Bonus Tip!

Remember that this is just a list of 101 tips, and as such, it can't possibly include everything. On the contrary, it just highlights and briefly summarises a fraction of the things that you really need to know if you really want to write a fantastic CV. There is a lot more to good CV writing than meets the eye. And hopefully this will have given you some food for thought, but if you want to know more (and a lot more at that) then...

...I know I’m biased to some degree but one last TOP TIP that I truly believe can help you a great deal is to check out The One Page CV. You can read a preview of the contents and first few pages free at Amazon. You’ve nothing to lose and so much to gain... See below...


Afterword

The whole purpose of this document was to give you food for thought to help you make more informed decisions when you either read other CV tips, hear a suggestion from an ‘advisor’, or when it comes to writing your own CV.

You will note that some of the tips mention that more in-depth explanations and information are given in my book The One Page CV. The main reason for including this was because I didn't want to leave those readers who wanted to learn more high and dry. I thought it was important to give those readers who wanted to discover more about the subject in greater depth, a point of reference to learn more, if that is what they wanted.

Obviously, it is entirely up to you whether you want to discover more about some of the key areas of job winning CV writing highlighted such as writing more flexibly, writing proactively, writing concisely, selling yourself more effectively etc. And I appreciate that some readers will want to discover more, whereas others won't. But at least by giving you the reference, if you do want to learn more then you can do just that.

For those of you who want to discover more, The One Page CV is available on Amazon in both paperback and e-book format and is very reasonably priced. As you will find, it is clear, easy to follow, and it guides you to creating a high impact CV via straightforward examples and step-by-step practical sessions.

Click here to check out the book

I hope you found all this useful.Please feel free to let me know what you think.You can contact me via this page:http://www.cvsucceed.co.uk/contactus/

And all the best with your applications

Paul


http://www.cvsucceed.co.uk/contactus/

http://www.cvsucceed.co.uk/cv-book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/129200147X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=129200147X&linkCode=as2&tag=cvtemplatecou-21

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Other useful links

Have your CV written by one of the top CV writers in the UKClick here for information on having your CV written specifically for you by one of the top CV writers in the UK. Prices are surprisingly reasonable, and especially considering the huge advantage it can give you landing better jobs.

Get a FREE CV appraisal from an experienced CV specialistClick here to have your CV assessed. Learn how it fares against the competition and find out how you can improve it. The service is completely free and without any obligation or commitment whatsoever.

More useful advicethere is also more useful CV tips and advice (including CV and cover letter tutorials) on the CV succeed site. Just start on the homepage and click on any links of interest.http://www.cvsucceed.co.uk

__________________________________________________________________________________© Copyright Paul Hichens 2013. All rights reserved. This eBook has been written with the intention of providing better quality advice to jobseekers everywhere, and to help enable them make more informed decisions about their CV. This text is subject to copyright and cannot be copied, sold, reproduced or distributed without prior agreement of the author.


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