Behind every title lies a story, and as this year is an Olympic year (anyone remember where the last 4 years went?!), is it time to address your career with an Olympic standard CV? We are aware that there are some of you who feel that CV writing is something that you actually should do for yourself, and there are plenty of people that will encourage you to do so. But, here’s the thing (also the reason that we started writing Professional CVs); Unless you have the skill to write a CV and the time to ensure the layout is eye catching (note: Do NOT interpret as gaudy) then it is particularly likely that your CV will struggle.
The analogy you should use is the interview suit;
Three people turn up for an interview:
1. Appears as if he slept under a hedge and when he awoke he used it to brush his hair.
2. Nicely turned out, decent suit, clean shoes well groomed.
3. Glides into the room with the smug look and suit they just got off the catwalk in Milan.
You want to be like the second option as if you go to far in the other directions then it can count against you. Some of you might think that I’m being ridiculous or preposterous and that its illegal or immoral to judge someone on appearance. How quaint. The ugly truth: You are judged. As long as people use sight they will judge you on appearance first. Once you begin talking, you can of course turn opinion, but why take the chance of making a poor first impression?
The year is 2012, and this is the year that you require an Olympic standard CV in its appearance and content:
Therefore, with your CV, it should now be quite clear what the difficulty is? With the analogy, you have the opportunity to talk your way out of a poor cosmetic appearance. With your CV, you are not afforded such a luxury. Your CV is you. It is the way the reader first engages with you; how much effort have you made, is it formatted the right way, is it overly long, does it have the detail the reader is expecting and would the reader put it in front of the employer? At least read our CV tips and look at our CV example of how a Professional CV should look. Now look at your CV and ask yourself if it’s a good CV, an average CV, or a bad CV?