Interview Techniques

Key Points

  • Concise
  • Clear Structure
  • Customised content for each application
  • The 5 second rule
  • Avoid colour
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    "There is no such thing as the perfect CV"."A well-written CV will not solve all of your job-hunting woes". If you believe these two statements (I do), then you could be forgiven for wondering whether it's worth putting much effort into your CV at all. You should, and I'll try to explain concisely why this is the case below.

    The 5 Second Rule
    How about this for an unspoken truth? Your CV probably has about 5 seconds in which to interest a recruiter or hiring manager. 5 seconds. I'm serious. People will scan over your CV very quickly without reading all the content, looking for hooks that will draw them in to find out more. Some people react to this limited-time exposure by making their CV loud and bright in order to stand out. This is a bad idea. You're not entering a TV talent show, you need to remember to appear professional at all times.

    Never use colour on a CV, for borders, backgrounds, fonts or anything (that is, unless you are a professional graphic designer). Even though you think it looks well-coordinated, that's no guarantee that others will, and different computer screens can make the same colour appear very different.

    Lacking confidence? Use a template!
    If you are not a proficient user of word processing software, then don't worry. Most major word processing packages have useful CV templates built into them. For Word, you can download them from: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101043371033.aspx, whereas for OpenOffice you can download them at: http://templates.services.openoffice.org/

    My CV as an Example
    Have a look at my CV on this website (you have a choice of formats, so you should be able to open one of them!). Personally, I'm not completely happy with it, and I could make small adjustments endlessly, but overall I like to think it's pretty decent. Now, look at it as if you are a hiring manager. Does the key information about my background make itself clear within the first few seconds?

    Have a clear and simple structure to your CV. If you look at my example, I have given myself five categories:

  • Profile Summary
  • Education & Training
  • Published Articles
  • Career History
  • References


    • Only focus on information that you want your prospective employer to assess you on. Although 'Hobbies & Interests' might be something you really want to tell people about, will it really make you look any more capable at performing the role you're applying for? I tend to recommend against these sections, as the space could be much better used to sell your practical experience.

    Length
    A well-written CV is rarely too short. Your content should provide plenty of 'hooks' so that the recipient has questions they want to ask you. Don't try to give all the answers in the CV itself, or you risk being verbose. It has often been said that a good CV doesn't exceed 2 (A4 printed) pages. If you have a lot of relevant technical skills that are relevant to mention, then 3 pages can certainly be appropriate. Any longer than that, though, and you will most certainly lose the attention of much of your audience.

    Remember, good recruiters are trying to hire the best people, not the best CVs. The objective of your CV is to get the recruiter or hiring manager talking to you. By the time a selection process comes to a hiring decision, that decision will be made on the competencies you have demonstrated at interview, not what your CV says!