The CV writing industry seems to be flourishing…but why? Any great Recruitment Specialist should offer this service for free to a jobseeker with whom they are working. It is in our self-interest to do so because if you have a better CV you have a better chance of securing an interview. This means we then have a better chance of placing you with one of the hiring companies we are working with, which is how we should be making our revenue.

This paid CV writing service seemed to become more visible in my area of specialisation (oil & gas) when the oil price fell in late 2014. After this, redundancies became commonplace and very few companies were hiring, which meant it was much harder to generate income during a hiring freeze. This continued to be the case for several years but in 2022, the oil prices are rising again and jobs in oil and gas are more abundant than they once were which means you need a well-written CV to get your foot in the door.

CV writing is not an exact science and if you ask a dozen different experts for their opinion on how to present your CV you may well hear a dozen different responses. For me, a well-written CV is one that gets you an invitation to speak about a role that may be of interest to you and it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

Below, I’ve got some tips to help you with your CV writing so that you get the right response.

Keep it Short and Sweet

CVs are designed to be read quickly and easily, so I do encourage you to keep it short and succinct. If you have the experience that is relevant to the role for which you are applying, let recruiters see it early on, and if possible on the first page.

Speaking from personal experience, I will read the first page of a CV and maybe the second and by that point, I have almost certainly made my decision as to whether I would like to speak with you about the role.

Pay Attention to Structure

Here is an example of a well-structured CV that grabs our attention!

Keep Content Relevant

When I review CVs, I have a process to determine whether the content is relevant to a position or not. Every CV that lands in my inbox is checked over before a phone call and some of the things I look at include skills, experience or capabilities that are of interest to me and fit the role.

Some of the things that will put your CV to the bottom of the pile include:

  • Skills or experience which is irrelevant to the role
  • Poorly explained skills
  • Incorrect spelling or grammar
  • Inconsistencies in supplied information such as dates not matching

If the skills and experience of the CV are of interest to me on the first page of the CV, you are more likely to get a callback so it’s very important that your CV is updated, succinct and free from grammatical errors.

When it comes to references, there is no need to mention them on your CV as we know that we can ask for them when we need them.

Summary

This is, of course, just a quick overview of how you may wish to write your CV. We recently posted a blog talking about how to write one that will get you noticed so it’s worth reading through it and seeing our take on how it should look. You can read it here.

A CV is a snapshot of your employment and qualification history so it should be kept short and to the point, but with enough information to show that you are right for a role.

I am happy to discuss how to write a CV with jobseekers, and you can contact me today for further guidance. Follow our company page to stay up to date with our publications, job vacancies and industry observations.