Tulani was feeling uncertain about his CV. It was typical – starting out with Personal Details, moving on to Education, then some patchy work experience.
Could it be improved? How could he make it a winner?
Here’s what I told him:
Hi Tulani, thanks for your CV. On my website I have 2 CV tests: http://www.wowcv.net/cv-success-tests/ – you’ll find a lot of help in the tests, discovering what a CV is and should be and how to make it so.
Looking at your CV though, it would be good to focus on what solution you provide – ie. if you’re focusing on IT Support for example, then start out with something like this:
IT Support Technician and Service Agent
Offering 5 Years’ experience, CompTIA qualifications and IT skills to solve IT network and application problems fast, to keep customers delighted with the service, and to be a reliable, consistent “top performer” for the employer.
Then the rest of the CV should go on to back up that message with the facts.
This approach gets to the point fast. It clearly establishes at the start to the employer/recruiter just what he is ‘all about’ (instead of expecting the reader to read it to try to figure it all out for themselves.)
Also note that the opening is not fluff (empty claims of being ‘hard working’ etc). It’s fact – hard experience, hard qualifications to clearly establish credibility. That comes first. THEN comes the “sell” – ie. hire me because:
“I delight customers … I provide fast service … I’m a top performer.”
Can you make a similar improvement? The tests in the link above – or here: http://www.wowcv.net/cv-success-tests/ – will help you hone this all further across your entire CV.