Over the past decade the quality of CV writing has risen dramatically. This is down to the amount of free information you can find online. There are lots of CV writing guides and tips which help anyone wanting to improve their application, and this has pushed the quality up to a whole new level.
Because of this employers are now expecting a higher quality of CV, which leaves anyone not swotting up online in the past. The old style of writing a CV is not good enough anymore and it’s harder than ever to now get an interview.
If you’re worried that your CV may be failing you, here are 3 massive reasons why you must write a new CV today.
It’s too generic
If your current CV is purely a list of all your skills, qualifications and experience – then read on. This approach to CV writing is out of date and not going to impress anyone. But what will help you get a job interview is tailoring your application.
To find out if your CV is too generic, grab a highlighter pen and print off a copy of your CV. Having read the job advert you should have a good idea of the skills and experience they require. Then, highlight all the information which isn’t relevant to the employer you are going to send it off too. After highlighting all the irrelevant parts you will probably have most of your information in yellow by now!
Like so many other CVs you should find that most of your information isn’t going to be of interest to the employer. Now that you’re staring at a huge sea of yellow or pink highlighter, you can see why a generic and untailored CV is not going to get you an interview.
Now would be a great time to start again completely from scratch. Keep your old CV so you have all your work history, but create a new one which now takes into consideration what the company wants.
You must tailor your CV to the role and the company if you want to succeed. The hiring manager wants to pick up your application and instantly see that you are suitable. A generic CV will force them to read between the lines, and most of the time they won’t bother.
You only update
If you keep the same CV and simply keep updating it every time you change jobs, you definitely need a new CV. Your old and tired CV is going to continue to slowly step out of favour with its design and content.
“Tailor your CV. Look at the company’s website and social media accounts, look to see if they’ve recently been mentioned in the local press and use the job advert to make sure your CV is targeted to the role and employer.”https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
We’ve already covered the topic of tailoring your CV to the role, and by doing that you will prevent this from happening. You don’t need to keep making small updates if you always write a brand new CV every time you apply. Even if you’re applying to numerous employers for the same job title, you should still write a new one for each – there will always be differences, no matter how subtle they may seem.
So stop making small updates and start again. It will ensure your information is relevant and fresh, and you can also choose a new design for your layout. This brings us on to…
You haven’t used a CV template
A CV template is a ready made layout that you can use to simply insert your details. Not only will that save a lot of time and stress, it will look great!
Unless you are a graphic designer or have a keen eye for this sort of thing, you should always choose a ready made CV template. You just have to make sure you pick a good one and avoid any rogue websites. Unfortunately not every CV template website you come across offers the best designs, but hopefully you will be able to filter out the good from the bad.
There are lots of modern designs to choose from and most are free to download. If you can find one that’s recent and clearly looks fantastic, it will certainly help you get a job interview. The overall layout and design of your CV is just as important as the skills you have to offer.
AUTOPOST by BEDEWY VISIT GAHZLY
