With the job market how it is, hiring managers receive hundreds of CVs so creating a memorable CV that helps you stand out from the crowd is very important! Based on our extensive recruitment experience as hiring managers and recruiters, we’ve created a list of 10 top tips which can help you create a CV that stands out and increases your chances of securing an interview.

We believe a CV should have the following sections: Contact Details, Personal Statement, Key Achievements/Skills, Work Experience (5-7 years), Summary of previous work experience, Education & Training, Recommendations.

Please e-mail us on hello@365jobs.co.uk for your free template!

Anyway, on with the top 10 tips for a great CV!

1. Keep Your CV Focused

Remember, a CV is to get you the interview, not the job. Include only the information that supports this objective. Irrelevant details waste space and valuable seconds of the reader’s time. With that in mind, try and top load the CV with the most relevant information regarding the job for which you’re applying.

2. Maintain a Manageable Length

A CV should ideally be no longer than 2 pages, 3 at an absolute maximum for more Senior roles but ideally 2 pages tops. A single page CV may work for those new to the job market or perhaps when making an application for creative roles but for most roles, a hiring manager will expect 2 pages. If they’re expecting to read 2 pages, then you should give them 2 pages as it will give you more chance to provide information as to why you’re a good fit for their role.

Reducing your CV to 2 pages can be time consuming, but we know of CV’s that have been rejected for some roles because they’re too long so it’s definitely a worthwhile exercise.

3. Personal Details

Some people get carried away with providing personal details on their CV, inside leg measurement, birthday etc but you only need to include the essentials:

• Location: Just the city/town or even the county is sufficient.
• Contact Information: Your email address and mobile number are fine.
• LinkedIn Profile: This can be a worthwhile inclusion, particularly if you have a good following, are active on LI and have recommendations on your page.

4. Create a strong Personal Statement

Your personal statement should be a summary of who you are, your relevant background, and why you’re a good fit for the role you’re applying for. This is at the top of the document and is something that the hiring manager is almost guaranteed to read, so a strong personal statement is crucial. Try to apply the following:

• Tailor it to the job you’re applying for. Try to put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes – why would they want to interview you?
• Highlight any relevant qualifications and industry specific methodologies.
• Mention any specific key achievements that align nicely with the role requirements.
• Keep it to one paragraph, around 7-9 lines long.

5. Highlight Key Achievements or Skills

Highlighting key achievements is a great way for a hiring manager to see the highlights of your career so far, without having to look through your entire CV. 4-5 bullet points here summarising things that you’re especially proud of from your professional or personal life can be powerful. Try and use the format “I identified this problem, I came up with this idea for solve it, implemented it and the benefits were X.”

For more technical roles e.g. Software Developer, Bricklayer or Nurse, it might be better to highlight any relevant skills in this section, code developed, projects completed or skills required to successfully accomplish your role.

6. Detail only your Recent Professional Experience

Think about when you’re applying for a loan or a mortgage, the lender is only interested in your last 5-7 years of financial information and it’s the same principle for job history. Industries have moved on, times have changed and there have been developments & changes in processes and practices since the last time you worked in that role/industry, so only detail relevant roles:

• Job title, company name, location, and dates.
• Brief role description and 3-4 bullet points on key achievements (ones that aren’t included in the Key Achievements section) and tasks.

7. Summarise Work Experience over 5-7 years old

For roles older than 7 years, keep it brief and relevant:

• Time worked in role
• Job Title
• Employer

If you worked in Burger King, Top Man or Andy’s Records whilst you were at college and that was long enough ago to have worked at Andy’s Records, then it’s probably not relevant to your application and therefore there’s no need to even mention it on your CV.

If you have some experience relevant to the role you’re applying from more than 7 years ago, try to highlight it in your key achievements section, or your personal statement where it is likely to peak the readers interest.

8. Emphasise Relevant Qualifications

If you are struggling for space to keep to 2 pages, then make sure you only include the most relevant qualifications. That cocktail mixing class you did might mean you can make a mean daquiri, but that’s not necessarily something the hiring manager is going to be too interested in!

However, if you are recently out of university or your qualifications are actually the stand out factor of your CV, then move them higher up. The key is to make sure you ‘top load’ the CV so the most relevant information is the first thing the hiring manager reads.

9. Include Recommendations, not References

What’s more powerful than someone who is good at selling themselves? Someone else selling them! Rather than include “References Available on Request” or actual Referee’s themselves – get some actual quotes from people and include them!

• Ask some ex-colleagues, manager’s or stakeholders to provide a couple of sentences of feedback for you which you can lift some key quotes from.
• If you don’t have a great deal of work experience, or you are studying, then ask teachers or lecturers to provide you with a recommendation instead – they are respected professionals after all.

10. Avoid Unnecessary Details

Avoid sharing unnecessary information with the reader. They are probably not interested in your hobbies at this stage even if you are a mean cook that will wow them at the annual office bake off competition. At the stage, even though you love your family, how many children you have or your marital status is not something a hiring manager is going to need to know. The interview is where they will get to know you better.

By following these tips, you can create a CV that stands out to hiring managers. Remember, the goal of your CV is to get you that interview. A well-crafted CV that highlights your skills and experiences can make all the difference… happy hunting!