Including Testimonial Extracts in Your CV – Why, How?

October 6, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
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Your CV exists to influence. You may not like the concept of ‘selling’ yourself.

But actually if you do a good job of selling yourself, you’re helping everybody. You’re giving them what they need. Then the decision is theirs to buy or not. To hire or not. To call in you in for an interview or not.

Bury all your talent and expertise in 13 pages of detail – and all you’re doing is making things hard for the reader. And for yourself – you’re not doing yourself justice.

So here’s another tactic to ramp up the power of influence in your CV by maybe 10x. It’s a well known and well used tactic by the best advertisers. It’s the power of a testimonial. It’s someone who worked with you, or a Manager, or a Client, saying:

“Hey, Bob here was great, he really came through for us” or,

“John was outstanding in bringing in new business – in his first year with us he was 2nd on the list of Achievers of the Year” or,

“Angie really was a reliable, dedicated PA. With her in charge of the office I had nothing to worry about”, or

“Michael kept our accounts in outstanding shape. He frequently was commended by our Auditors for his attention to details and timeous submissions.”

Why would one want to hide that stuff away? It has strong power to ‘influence’ – to twist the arm of the employer, or to make you stand out in a sea of other applicants.

But how to include it? There are any number of ways.

  • You can inset a little text box in the CV with little quotes like the above.
  • You can add them in at the end of the CV.
  • You can include them as an ‘end off’ to each position listed on the CV.

When I write CVs – which I do a lot (see details of my service here) – I try to include these sort of extracts all the time. But I choose them carefully – with a strategic eye. They have to help you create the right impression.

WARNING! Sometimes a poorly chosen quote, although positive, may not be heavy-weight enough to position you correctly. Like using a quote that says you’re “reliable and steady” may not do the job for you when pitching for a high energy sales job.

If you’d like help with your CV, call me, mail me or go here for more info.

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    Gerard le Roux

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    Hi, I'm Gerard le Roux, a CV writer and job search coach - published in The Star and Financial Mail and heard on Radio 702 and SAfm. I help people get more interviews and job offers.



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