Springtime: time to dust off your CV

The clocks have changed and it’s spring time, although looking out of the window and you may think otherwise. I don’t know about you but this is the time of year I do my big spring clean. I love getting rid of unwanted items, and love to move everything so I get at trapped dust. It’s a lovely feeling to see my windows sparkle, to have got rid of cobwebs, to start to think of the summer and warmer days ahead. Even more so when it’s so cold at the moment. This could be a good time to spring clean and tidy up your CV.

Critically review your CV

Whether we are actively looking for a job, or not, it’s still important that we have a CV that’s ready to go. You may find a perfect job to apply for, perhaps a promotion at work, or you could find your job being made redundant.

So get it out and give it a careful read through.

• How happy are you with it?
• Does it portray the current version of you?
• Is it focused on your strengths now and where you want to go in the future?

Keep it up to date

Although we know we should keep our CV up to date, what usually happens is once our CV has done its job and we have a new job, we then don’t look at our CV again. Then all of a rush we need it and may not even be able to find it. Lucy has recently started working with me and she had to spend time rebuilding her CV, a much bigger job than editing a document.

But even people like Carl who had a CV still needed to put in quite a bit of work. 5 years in a job and he needed to update his CV to include his current job and thus reduce the amount included on previous jobs to keep it to 2 sides. Although not set in stone, a CV of longer than 2 days should be the exception for people with an extensive career history, not for a 30 year old with 4 jobs.

Update the style

Styles change. When you tidy up your home you may come across old photos and wonder why you ever dressed as you did, but that was the fashion at the time. Same with your CV – the old style can look plain boring, and dated. Get rid of the long profile about what you want. The employer doesn’t care. It should be about them, not you. So think more about what you have to offer and what makes you different and stand out from all the other people looking for a similar job to you.

Look too at the font, Times New Roman looks dated, and as most CVs are read on screen you may prefer to use Verdana or Tahoma or similar. Don’t be afraid to add colour, some graphs and a recommendation or two.

Space

Just as in your home, less looks better - tidy book shelves and artfully positioned objects, you can do the same with your CV and include white space. Avoid making narrow margins and cramming in as much as you can. Give thought to what will look best and show off the most relevant skills and expertise to best affect.

Contact details

Modern CVs should include a link to your LinkedIn profile so include a link to this alongside your contact details. (You may need to review your LinkedIn profile too). Omit your address if you are posting your CV online, and do include your mobile number to make it easy for people to call you. You no longer need to type in ‘mobile number,’ it is obvious, just include the number.

Use relevant skills

Software is now used to shortlist CVs so you must include relevant key words within your CV, not just in a skills section. The software will search for keywords so you need to have relevant ones throughout your CV. But they have to be based on truth and experience; when you get to interview your examples should provide evidence to back up these key words. Think about both technical skills which relate to the job but also softer skills such as being approachable, visionary, team player, self motivated.

Be concise

Too many CVs still contain dense descriptive text. No one wants to read your job description on your CV they want to know what you have achieved. So review your CV and make sure it includes key achievements that demonstrate how you have made a difference in your jobs, and how what you have done relates to the requirements of the job. Use action words to start each bullet.

Focus on what’s relevant

If you are in your late 20s, or older you don’t need to include details on your GCSEs. As a new graduate you would have been proud of university achievements but work experience will be more important so let things go. And if your career history goes beyond 15-20 years there’s no need to include every job, going back 30 years or more. Your first jobs are unlikely to be relevant now.

To do

In the near future, look at your CV and check if it’s as good as can be. Follow the advice in this article to have a more sparkling CV.

Denise Taylor is a Career Psychologist with Amazing People and the author of books including Find Work at 50+, and Now You've Been Shortlisted. Reach Denise at www.amazingpeople.co.uk or if you are over 50 - The 50+Coach