With the end of the year coming up, some people begin to look for new job opportunities once Christmas and New Year’s bonuses (or lack thereof) are passed out. If you are one of these career chasers, it’s essential to spruce up your CV to impress recruiters – but what can been said that hasn’t been said already? At the end of the day, isn’t a CV just an archive of our experiences and achievements? While that may be true, a professional job hunter’s CV and a fresh graduate’s CV will have clearly discernible levels of salesmanship. A truly remarkable CV will not only tell of strong experiences, but also carry strong personality and individuality. How can we shift away from a boring CV to one that excites recruiters? Join Wordsmith and let’s find out with the help of several Forbes recruitment coaches and CV experts!
Fine, I’ll do it myself
ChatGPT is the Tesla of the writing world as it continuously innovates with the power of artificial intelligence. Although some people may believe that applying ChatGPT to everything is the new way of life, Emily Kapit (Lead Career Strategist and Head Resume Writer at ReFresh Your Step) advises against using AI tools to write your CV.
“I have seen resulting content [from using ChatGPT], and while the verbiage appears decent, the documents are routinely missing impact points, key context details and demonstrated value,” Kapit explains.
ChatGPT may be ideal at listing out your academic and work experience, but unless the AI has a way to directly tap into your brain, it won’t know how to prioritise and rank your experiences. For many recruiters, experience from the most recent job is usually what they’ll want to look at the most – especially for details that are in line with the job description. Although modern resume builders with AI functionality (like teal) can try to pull details from your CV to match the job description, there’s only so much it can do until it starts fabricating false details. So when it comes to tailoring your CV for the job, you should rely on yourself to create the right narrative with the right supporting details.
For example, if the job description requires candidates to have a high level of team management, you can talk about that time you worked on a project between headquarters around the world – the difficulty of coordinating people from different time zones, the frustrations and challenges it can bring, and how you ultimately got the project launched!
Be the STAR
When listing out your responsibilities from a prior workplace, is this how you normally list them out?
· Responsible for liaising clients with other staff across international headquarters
If you answered yes, you aren’t putting yourself forward enough! Although it may be the CV standard, it doesn’t mean that you have to submit to being standard – instead, Shruti Parashar (Executive Coach and Lead Consultant at GOALisB) recommends the STAR (situation, task, action, results) method. Randi Braun (CEO of Something Major) echoes similar sentiments and emphasises that it’s important to not mistake accomplishments for impact. “It’s not enough to list what you did at past jobs – the key is to articulate why it mattered and how it moved the organisation forward,” Braun explains.
The STAR method reframes your responsibilities and gives it a much-needed punch of details and causality:
· Situation – what were the circumstances around your responsibility?
· Task – what does the responsibility involve?
· Action – what did you do about it?
· Results – what came of your actions (with regards to your client or your business)? Was it successful?
Instead of the very ordinary example we used above, here’s how STAR would reframe it:
· Successfully liaised operations and schedules between the client and our staff from Berlin, Singapore and Tokyo for the international marketing campaign GlobeTrekker2023
The responsibility now carries more tangible weight, does it not? Recruiters will also have a better time trying to factcheck these details later on – they’ll appreciate the extra help!
Customise your CVs accordingly with the job requirements
This tip is a tough pill to swallow considering how stressful it is to put together just one version of your CV. However convenient it may be to just use the same CV across all your applications, Anna Yusim (MD of Yusim Psychiatry, Consulting and Executive Coaching) strongly advises against it, as “it may not effectively highlight your qualifications and may appear less appealing to recruiters.” “Job seekers should carefully analyse the job description and incorporate relevant keywords and skills into the resumes to showcase their suitability for the position,” Yusim writes.
It’s tempting to cram all your prior work responsibilities into your CV – especially with the STAR format being able to transform even mediocre responsibilities into powerhouse roles. However true that may be, if the responsibility is not related to the job you are applying for, it’s not being used optimally. A more prudent way to do your CV would be to have a master copy with the STAR format for all your job responsibilities, then strip off any responsibilities that don’t correspond with the job requirements.
It’s showtime
Some people make the mistake of treating their CV like a rigid and solemn record of their past. Perhaps of academic transcripts and prison records, a CV is ultimately a self-promotional tool first and an archive second. By using the boilerplate approach of regurgitating your past experiences, skills and responsibilities, you are only making it harder for yourself to get noticed.
“When you focus on what makes you shine at what you do – how you might be better, faster, less costly or more profitable – you demonstrate the ROI you bring and will stand out from other equally qualified candidates,” writes Laura DeCarlo (President of Career Directors International).
Just like with the STAR format, look for places where you can put yourself forward – a cover letter to accompany an application, about me sections, even blurbs on LinkedIn about what it was like to work at a particular business are all fair game!
· Boring:
Working at PriceCooperWatertown (PCW) helped me work alongside international clients and to experience what work was like at a large-scale agency. From working multiple projects, I learnt to be both independent and a team-player.
· Slick:
Working at PriceCooperWatertown (PCW) was like being immersed into a melting pot of international clients and coworkers – an experience that you could only fully appreciate while working at a large-scale agency like PCW. There was never a dull moment as personal and group projects came like landslides, but it was a fiery crucible that taught how to be both an independent and team-player.
Watch closely
Aside from portraying yourself as an outstanding potential applicant, recruiters are also interested in knowing whether or not you are in the loop – which is why Anita O’Connor-Roberts (Owner of AOC Consulting) argues that you should always keep afloat of the latest industry trends and developments. It doesn’t mean you need to be an expert on each and every subject pertaining to your industry, but you should at least know what something is if a recruiter were to ask your opinion of it.
For example, in marketing and copywriting, ChatGPT has been one of the most controversial topics over the past year or so. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know what it is or how it could affect creative works as a whole! If you were applying to a marketing firm, a smart thing to do might be make a jab at how AI is inexperienced at empathetic writing – then point to an example of a client project you worked on that tugged at audience’s heartstrings to great success.
Although CVs serve a professional purpose, being professional does not have to mean boring. When you make your CV exciting to read – and more importantly, make the CV a reflection of yourself – it gives recruiters a vivid picture of who is trying out for the team. So why let your CV be plain and uninspired when a bit of polish