Creating a CV that sells!!!

Whether you are a graduate new to the job market or an experienced exec looking to move up the corporate ladder, there are times that it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to finding a new opportunity.

The following questions often come to mind for many of our candidates:

Why haven’t they called me back???

Why does my CV get trashed???

What do I need to do to be considered being invited for an interview???

Are there any vacancies in South Africa???

A panel of recruitment specialists would quite easily be able to provide the answers to these questions as we have a different perspective on how Job Seekers plan their job search and market themselves in the South African job market.

As we all know by now, Job Hunting can be a tiring process - it requires extensive planning, careful thought, creativity and passion to tailor your resume with your career future in mind. Yet, so many Job Hunters’ CV’s are trashed before the second page of the application has been taken into consideration. This is not because your hair colour doesn’t fit into the organisations colour scheme or whether or not you’ve completed their tertiary qualification at Tukkies as opposed to Maties. But rather, it is most likely that the lack of information provided on your CV (and how and where the information is displayed) has led to it being disregarded despite the fact that you might be a perfect match for the position.

Here are the “Must have’s”, the “Biggest Mistakes” and the “Nice to have’s” for compiling an impressive CV that will not get trashed and that will receive the careful consideration that it deserves.

Every CV “Must have” the following information:

• Full Name and Surname; and please do not forget - known as
• ID number and Date of Birth
• Contact Details - Cell number, Alternative contact number, Email address
• Physical Address and preferred area of occupation
• Nationality and Race
• Languages that you can Read, Write and Understand
• Relationship Status and Dependants
• Drivers and Transport information
• Current Salary per month/ per Annum - Your salary breakdown should include your Basic Salary per month + full details of benefits and lastly, include your Nett Salary
• Salary Expectations - Be realistic – the norm for an increase if you change from companies are 10% - 15% on your current salary if you are lucky
• Availability for interviews and your Notice period
• Brag board - This is a short paragraph of what you have done and achieved in your career thus far. Do not be shy to mention career accomplishments that you are really proud of.
• Computer Literacy and Software Packages you have experience working with
• Secondary Education - Last School attended, Highest grade passed, Year completed, Subjects
• Tertiary Education - Institution, Qualification, Year completed, Subjects
• Courses completed
• Membership information - If you are part of an association like ECSA, SAICA etc.
• Projects worked on - Include the Project Name, Your position & duties on the project
• Work Experience - Include the Name of Company worked for, Your Position within the Company, Dates of employment, Reason for leaving and of course, Duties/ Key Performance Indicators. Remember to include as much information as possible relevant to the products, industry and function you operate in.
• At least 2 contactable References - Preferably contact details of former managers that you reported to.

If you feel that your CV requires some personalisation because you would like to emphasise what a special character you are, or for whatever reason you think it needs a personal touch; you can include the “Nice to have’s” on your CV. But keep in mind that your CV can get quite lengthy and that possible future employers might get bored reading your 30 page CV.

• Cover letter - In our experience, Managers and Directors really do not have the time to read through an essay of a candidate’s career history just to read the same information again within the CV. If you want to include a cover letter, keep it succinct and relevant. State achievements and avoid clichés.
• Photograph of yourself - A headshot of yourself is great for us to put a face to the voice on the other end of the line when I first contact a candidate, but be careful as some people may judge a book by its cover. Be sure to keep it professional and be conscious of the size. Unless you’re applying to be the next top model, it’s unnecessary to have a full page photospread on your CV
• Hobbies and interest
• Extra-curricular activities and achievements
• Part time positions that you have done during school and varsity holidays that are not relevant to your current position or your Career goal
• Skills Matrix - Avoid thumb sucking skills to make your CV look more impressive but list relevant skills such as project management or the ISO’s you currently work with

Then there are the “Big Mistakes” that candidates so often make either because no one has ever cared to educate them on how to compose a professional CV or as a result of sheer carelessness.

• Make sure that there are no gaps or overlapping dates in your career history. If there are, explain the circumstances and what you have done in that period of time
• Never include a negative reason for leaving or “bad mouthing” your previous employers
• Do not write your duties in a paragraph or essay format. Rather, list your duties with bullets but still using full sentences
• Do not use different font’s and colours on your CV, plan beforehand what font and colour you are going to use that suit you best and stick to it
• Do not include family and friends as references
• Always double check your spelling and grammar
• NEVER lie on your CV

To conclude and to answer the above questions: Yes, the quality and appearance of a CV plays a big role in the job-hunting process. They haven’t called you back and your CV gets trashed because your CV lacks the important information that could have convinced them that you are perfect for the position. There are most definitely positions available in South Africa; on Pnet alone there are currently more than 29 282 jobs advertised in South Africa not to even mention the other job portals like CareerJunction, JobMail.

If your CV has all the information that is required and you have spent quality time compiling it to the best of your ability, by applying to positions that match your skill set and level of experience; you will get invited for an interview and land that dream job before you know it.