Six tips to upgrade your CV to beat the cost-of-living crisis

As the cost-of-living crisis continues unabated, a better paying job is high on the agenda for many people. Unfortunately, no-one’s going to hire you just because you need a job – they’re going to hire you because they think that you’re the right person to fill their vacancy.

This is where your CV comes in! With your experience, skills and qualifications, along with some impressive wording, your CV is there to convince them that you’re worth inviting for an interview. CV Shed has six top tips to help your CV to stand out from the crowd, so that you can secure a new job faster.

1.    Get the basics right

Of course, none of the following CV upgrades are worth anything if you don’t get the basics right, so let’s begin at the very beginning. You’ll need the following sections:

• Contact details
• Professional profile
• Key skills
• Career history – focused on achievements
• Qualifications – industry, as well as academic

Keep it professional by writing without pronouns, using a wide variety of vocabulary and avoiding images and graphics – including photos.

2.    Show off your achievements

Show that you’re going to add value to the company by focusing on your past achievements. It’s no good saying “it wasn’t that kind of job” – everyone has achieved something professionally, whatever their role and whatever stage they’re at in their career. If you weren’t adding value in some way, you wouldn’t have been employed in that role. Think about how the company would have been negatively impacted without you and ask yourself how you’ve contributed to increasing profits, reducing costs, improving efficiency or supporting customers. This is just a small example of what you might have achieved – there will be plenty more examples if you put your thinking cap on. Don’t forget to shout about any awards or positive feedback too! Quantifying your achievements will make the CV even stronger.

3.    Keep it recent

Honestly, no-one really cares what you were doing back in the eighties! Don’t make yourself look out of date or open yourself to potential age discrimination by dwelling on the past. Your CV should focus very firmly on your recent career and qualifications. As you go further back in your career, reduce the amount of detail you include – or even eliminate earlier roles altogether. Think of your CV as your sales brochure, not your life story.

4.    Make it relevant

The strongest CVs are tailored to a particular job. If something isn’t relevant to your target role, simply eliminate it. Yes, that means that you’re likely to end up with multiple versions of your CV as you apply for different roles, but the effort will be worth it. Your aim is to present a focused document that shows how you’ll fit seamlessly into the advertised role, not to offer a rambling narrative that presents you as a Jack of all trades and master of none. That’s not to say that you should remove an entire job and leave a gaping hole in your career story - just consider how you could reframe that role to better align with the employer’s needs.

5.    Hit above the fold

Research has shown that recruiters only spend a matter of seconds on the first read of a CV, so your first impression needs to make an impact – quickly! All of the critical information should be contained in the top half of the first page of your CV. That means explaining what you do and why you’re good at it before you mention your cats or your favourite football team (don’t do that – didn’t you read point 3?). Consider a snappy headline and a 3-4 sentence profile that immediately sets the scene and positions you as a viable – nay, desirable – candidate, followed by some pertinent keywords in a skills section.

6.    Presentation, presentation, presentation

A high-impact CV isn’t just about the wording – the true first impression lies in the presentation. A CV written in a tiny font, crammed from margin to margin with dense paragraphs, is rather off-putting. Not everyone will find the minutiae of your career story as riveting as you do, so keep it concise and accessible. You’ll need bullet points, plenty of white space, a standard font and clear section headings if you want to make the reader’s job easier. Sometimes, less is more.

Get it out there!

You’ve found your ideal job and you’ve crafted a knock-out CV – it’s time to hit the send button and release your masterpiece on the world. Now, you need to start brushing up your interview skills ready for the inevitable invitation – good luck!

If you’re still unsure whether your CV hits the mark, why not get the whole document written by a professional? With over 12 years’ experience in CV writing and accreditation from the British Association of CV Writers, CV Shed will have your job search documents looking their best in no time.