How to Create a CV / Resume to Get Your Dream Interviews

Is ATS out to get you?

No, of course not!

It is merely a system to sort and gather info from CVs, not an anti-CV monster!

It may not been the end of the world if your CV is too fancy and it can't be understood by the ATS, as it is very possible they will contact you and tell you if they can’t read the CV with their system BUT

1. This causes unnecessary work for them

2. They may miss parts of your CV off without you knowing (a whole text box for example)

3. They may not contact you except to reject your application and you won't know why.

Play it safe with a simple layout, make it easy to read and straightforward and you shouldn’t need to worry!

Work History

We won’t be putting the CV together in order, trust me, it works better this way ?

Gather together your work history. 10-15 years is usually plenty. The aim of the CV is to get it on 2 pages by the end, so we don’t need to know about your paper round in the nineties. The jobs need to go in reverse order with your most recent being first. The most recent should also have the most info.

Some people like to include a blurb about each company, but I don’t generally advise it as it uses space you could be utilising to tell the recruiter about what you have done.

Company name, job title and the month and year you started and finished (3 letters for the month).

e.g. Houston Texans Plc Tight End Nov 2019 - present

Ideally fit all three pieces on info on one line and use the same distancing between for all the jobs so all the job titles and dates line up. If you have really long employer or job names then use two lines. Just ensure they all line up as you look down the page. The template has preset spaces but you can easily adjust them by using the tabs at the top of the ruler (top of your page).

Focus on the impact you had in roles. Mention tasks and responsibilities, but don’t list every single one. Think about achievements and use quantifiable metrics if you can e.g. reduced costs by 15% or increased sales by 10% year on year or managed a budget of £3 Million. Use numbers and show future employers what a difference you have made and will make for them.

Including how many people you managed or the size of budgets is also really important to give your experience the correct context.

Education, Training, Qualifications...

Firstly, don’t panic if there isn’t much to write in this section. There is always an option to add training here and include any qualifications that are relevant. So optional headings could be Education and Training, Qualifications and Training, just choose the right option for you.

When it comes to what you include, use common sense. If you are an Operations Director and you have your GCSEs on your CV it is a waste of space. Always make sure everything on that CV is there to add value, we don’t want space fillers!

If you are a school leaver or have just graduated, GCSEs may be a lot more relevant and also if your work experience doesn’t showcase the skills you need and perhaps you are moving from manual work into an admin role, you may want to indicate you have GCSE Maths and English for example.

Plus of course if the job description requires you to include GCSEs and/or A Levels then please do, but if you have more recent and more relevant qualifications like an apprenticeship, a degree or professional training then don’t put on school qualifications.

In some cases there may be no official qualifications to speak of, so just don’t include the education section.

Structure

Structure wise, let’s give you an example, for a degree put the University name, the qualification, then the date (if you want to - this isn't necessary). The qualification or name of the training should be in bold. The grade isn’t necessary unless it was a first and you want to shout about it because it is relevant to your current career, and no info on the specifics of the course is needed.

Training can have its own section if you have done a significant amount, as then it will look better separated from qualifications, use some judgement here. Remember we always want the CV to look as readable and uncluttered as possible.

The example shown below has a lot of training and education but please remember you don't HAVE to include dates or where the course was if you don't think it is highly relevant, especially for internal courses. Lining things up is really essential for readability though.

Why should you have a skills section?

Not everyone has one of these sections but I am a huge advocate of key skills and this is why. It is a simple way to showcase your main skills in a readable way, and on the first page of a CV. By putting it under the opening statement (which will be the most important part), you grab their attention with the statement then draw them in with the skills you list.

This area is a place to give a bit more detail about your main skills without clogging up your statement with ALL the keywords. It is also a chance to give a nice overview of the skills you have built up over the years of experience in your various jobs.

It can be hard work reading through a CV without a key skills section, and with long rambling statements in the career history so make it easy! Finding out what you’re good at shouldn’t be a treasure hunt for a recruiter or employer, make it simple and put it in their face.

It is my preference to theme or simplify rather than list them. This is the best option if you are unsure!

What Are Career Highlights?

They are basically the highlights from your career history that you are most proud of.

Perhaps you turned around a failing business (add figures if you can). Maybe you developed a team that went on to win an award. Or you may have implemented some innovative IT system

You get the idea! Anything that is relevant to your work experience and that's more individual to you it is the better.

This area will be on the first page under the key skills and it will help sell you to a potential employer and helps stop them missing your best bits!

Who Needs Career Highlights?

It comes down to personal choice but...

Career highlights are particularly good for people that have extensive experience and years of achievements. You can choose your top 3 and this will help potential employers read those most important achievements that you don't want them to miss.

They are also really easy to change according to the job you are applying for. You should change the CV every time, even if it is minor changes. So this area can be changed to ensure you are showing that you have achieved in areas that they ae looking for.

e.g. If the role you are applying for asks for sales results in retail, make sure your career highlights has an achievement about retail sales, remember using quantifiable figures really adds impact - 30% increase in sales whilst managing a store...etc.

The most important part

This is where it gets really interesting and it is the most important part of your CV as we want it to be a really in-depth insight into what makes you you!

This part is the first thing they will read and this is where you really do need to show you can kick ass!

By definition it is also therefore the hardest part to write, and leaving it until last might seem strange but actually it is better to have written the rest first, as you will have been thinking about yourself and your skills already. That is how I do it for a client.

So, here is where it can get tricky. Writing about yourself in a positive and confident way, telling people not only what you are about, but also what you have achieved and what impact you can have on a business. All in one paragraph!

Not sure where to start?

If you are struggling with where to start, ask other people. Ask colleagues, friends, a partner, a boss even. Read recommendations or appraisals. Other people often think more highly of us than we think about ourselves, and that can really help you here.

Gather all this together or brainstorm it yourself and think about words to describe yourself, your skills, your impact and your uniqueness. Are you collaborative? Autonomous? Flexible? Do you thrive in change? Process-minded? Relentlessly positive or energetic?

It can be hard to avoid clichés here, but try your best. And be prepared to edit this section a few times. The best idea once you have all the words you want to use is to just start and write a draft. It might not be quite right, but it will give you a starting point.

Then edit it down and perfect it. Ask a colleague or friend to read it, be brave. Get some feedback and change it until you are happy. The key part is the first sentence, get that right and the rest should come easy, well easier!

One idea for a first line is to use your job title and some strong adjectives,

e.g. I am an inspiring and energetic Sales Manager with a proven track record of exceeding targets and motivating my team to do the same.

Job title is a big factor if you are wanting to make a step up. You can’t yet say you are a Director, but you can say senior leader, and of course ensure you are stating skills on your CV that apply to the more advanced role. Remember leadership roles tend to require more big picture skills like strategic planning and the ability to negotiate and influence at c-level.

You may also wish to use a general title if you are aiming for a non-specific role. For example, someone who is in management and may apply for director and other senior leadership roles may be best to say senior leader, especially if you’re in an industry where job titles vary between companies.

But often it is as straight forward as saying admin manager, if that is what you are and want to be.

Stick to one paragraph if possible, so that is approximately 100 words usually. More than 150 is usually too much. Less is more and you want impact not waffle.

Below is an example of a CV profile I wrote for myself to give you an idea! But make it as personal as possible.

Try it!

Below is an activity worksheet to download that may help start you off. We want 5 words that describe you and then 5 synonyms for those words, (use a theasaurus if you like!)

Then think about your USP - what is it that you bring to a role no one else can, what makes you YOU?

Have a go and see if it gets you started. Ask a friend or colleague to help you out if you get stuck.

Third person? Rebecca says no...

So, should the profile be in first or third person?

Here you have a choice! Personally I love to use first person just for that opening summary then third for the rest of the CV however, some people will always advise third person throughout. I think first person is powerful and personable, two things we want in a kick-ass CV!

One thing I will say is avoid pronouns. Use what we call omniscient third person, which means you say 'Current lead for the digital transformation project at LinkedIn’

NOT: ‘Rebecca is the current lead for the digital transformation project at LinkedIn’

And NOT ‘She is the current lead for the digital transformation project at LinkedIn’

It sounds so cringe when you use your name or a pronoun in your own CV, or in fact anywhere!

Optional tagline

You may like to add a tagline at the top of your CV - it can be a great way to showcase your main skills before anyone even reads the CV properly.

For example:

CUSTOMER SUCCESS | LEARNING & CHANGE PROJECTS | CONSULTANCY

Please note: This should be in the main body of the CV, not in the header.

This would also be an easy area to amend for each application. Tweaking every application is really important.

The odd bits – any other business

Here is where it gets tricky as you are an individual and I don’t know EXACTLY what you need to put on your CV, however, here are a few ideas for things you might want to add if they are relevant to you.

· Professional memberships

This can be really important in some industries so create a section at the bottom of the CV to include these.

· Voluntary work

If you volunteer or have done in the past then talk about it here, it doesn’t need to be in depth but an idea of what you and for whom can really add some value to your CV.

· Interests

Only if they are interesting! If you have done a lot of charity work, run 10 marathons or competed for England in table tennis, then by all means tell us about it. If you like to cook and go for walks or socialise with friends at weekends (we know you mean go to the pub), then don’t bother! If in doubt, leave it out!

· Languages or technical skills

You may wish to include these in the key skills section, but another option is to add them as an extra at the end of a CV. It depends how relevant they are to the role for which you are applying.

Keywords - adapt your CV

Why do you need to adapt your CV?

• Match what they are looking for - you want to look like the ideal candidate, so you need to make some changes to align yourself with their requirements, don't make assumptions they know you can do things, say it!

• Don't use a scattergun - If you send the same CV out to 100 applications you may get the odd interview but tailoring your CV for 10 specific jobs you really want is far better!

• Make their job easy - They want to be able to shortlist you and see that you match the job spec so make it obvious you do!

• ATS - It may be set up to look for the keywords from the job spec so make sure they are in your CV!

• Don't lie - I am not suggesting at any point that you should invent skills or experience you do not have, I am talking about highlighting certain skill areas or mentioning specific examples that are relevant to the application in hand.

What are keywords?

It just means the keywords that relate to a role you are applying for.

Check the job description for:

• Skills

• Experience / qualifications required

• Duties

Check out the example below to see what we mean, it really is quite simple and straightforward and will make SO much difference to your success rate.

There are also some downloadable interview tips for when you do start to get some, see the next section.

First a caveat...

I cannot cover everything about LinkedIn in one unit...it deserves a full course and I plan to do one!

But for starters this will get you the knowhow to optimise your profile and make it work for you.

I LOVE LinkedIn but I know people are scared of it sometimes, so let's stick to the basics and get you on track to bring in some great opportunities, which you can then send your new CV to!

Why use LinkedIn?

There are now 830+ million users on LinkedIn so being on there is a fast-growing trend and the best way to network professionally with people all over the world.

Most companies are represented in some way on there now and it is one of the best methods to get close to or build a relationship with senior leaders at a company you want to work for.

It is also a place to showcase your personality, thought leadership and skillset.

If you get it right, you can create an engaged and active audience that is relevant to you and opportunities may come your way.

A kick-ass profile

The most important thing with LinkedIn is to get engagement and drive people to your profile. If you’re a business on LinkedIn, obviously you want to use this profile to convert people into leads. However, if you’re there to look for a job or build a network to create opportunities, you are looking for a similar effect. You want people to engage with you, and ultimately look at your profile. Or maybe you’re applying for roles, and they look you up on LinkedIn, either way your profile needs to kick some ass.

It is a waste of time if you get people to look at your profile, and then there’s nothing to read. There are ways to drive people towards your profile which I’ll mention later, but you need to have a profile worth looking at.

So, what are we talking about? There are obviously different elements to the profile, and a few things to consider, I will discuss the About section, taglines, banners, photos and skills in the following sections.

The About section

The summary or About section is the main part really, it needs to be a maximum of 2600 characters, so you can’t go crazy here, but you should be writing more than one or two paragraphs.

Start off by engaging the reader, tell them something important about you and your skills or experience or that just grabs attention. For business About sections, I will use something that addresses a pain point.

It may or may not be so relevant for a job seeking About section, but it can work if you’re saying that you can fix someone’s problem in their business and you’re going to come in and turn it around, for example.

Talk about the impact you’ve made. Talk about the skills and experience you’ve got and where it’s from. You can use a fairly informal tone, as it is social media at the end of the day.

I would recommend adding a little bit of personal detail towards the end of the About section, maybe something you do in your spare time or something about your family, whatever you’re comfortable sharing or somewhere you like to travel to or just something that’s important to you.

With mine I’ve added that I support the Texans, Liverpool Football Club, and also that I do pole fitness and aerial hoop in my spare time, and I’ve also mentioned that the reason I’m in business is for my children and their future. It’s nice to add those things in because people feel like they get to know you a little bit better. And you may share common interests, the foundation of most relationships.

You should also add some form of call to action. So, for a business it might be ‘DM me if you want a free quote’, but for a job seeking profile you could have ‘If you have any opportunities you feel will suit me, please contact me’ and then you can give an email address or a phone number, it’s up to you how you want people to contact you. It can be as full of personality as suits you.

If you don’t want it to be so outwardly job seeking, obviously some people are in a job at the moment and are looking for something new without wanting to shout about it, you can still say something like, ‘I enjoy networking with people in my industry, please feel free to click connect’. It’s nice and welcoming, and it gives people something to do after they’ve read your About section.

Making it look appealing to read is important so use paragraphs and even emojis as bullet points (any shape or image breaks up the text).

Get the picture

The photo you use should represent you, clearly. Not only is that in the terms and conditions but people will relate to you better if it’s a photo of you not a logo or a landscape.

Using anything other than a photo of you does potentially risk getting taken down. So, go for a nice clear face-on photo.

It doesn’t need to be a professional headshot, selfies do work or get someone to take a photo of you. Often it works well if you take the background out, there are a few apps to do this. And then just add a standard colour behind, or if you’re good at Photoshop, you could always Photoshop yourself in front of something cool, or just do something with a relatively simple background, nothing too cluttered.

In a bar with your friends? Not really the look you want to go for. It doesn’t need to be you in a suit, you can wear whatever you like. But let’s keep it appropriate. Obviously, if you’re a personal trainer then you in workout kit is fine. If you are an MD of a company, perhaps a suit or smart casual look is better, obviously use some common sense here.

The cover video option no longer exists, sad times! But if you had one you can put it in your featured section if you still have it saved somewhere.

Skills are us!

For the rest of the profile, you have space for up to fifty skills, so I recommend you put all fifty on there. There are loads of skills to choose from, aim for things that are in your target career. And obviously, be truthful.

You can connect the skills to your work experiences, which can be time consuming but it all helps!

They now connect to your workplaces too and appear under them in career history, so this can be really useful. People can endorse your skills but it isn't that worthwhile, obviously it is better than nothing but anyone can endorse anyone so it's not got any gravitas.

Suits you sir!

Recommendations are like reviews or references that other people write for you. Try and get some from people that know you, people who have worked with you in the past or currently. If you can build up lots of recommendations they work really well.

That’s how I get a lot of my clients, because they read my recommendations. I have over 80, however, even if you’re looking for work, having some well written recommendations from people that work with you is really strong social proof.

The rest...

There are other areas to be completed, career experience is self- explanatory, the jobs you’ve done, the dates you’ve done them, add some explanation of each one. Use similar to what you have on your CV. You can put as much or as little as you like here, well there’s a limit but it’s 3000 characters so there’s plenty of space. You can add links to projects or add photos as well. It all adds to the keywords when someone is searching for someone with your skills.

Under accomplishments you can add memberships, qualifications/training, and you can add in any voluntary work you’ve done. You can also mention if you’re open to helping people, or connecting or whatever you are open to, and you can add pages or companies you’re interested in. It all complements the overall picture you want.

What you’re looking for is an all-star profile, and you’ll achieve that when you’ve got everything filled in correctly. The About section is the real core to it though, and everything else should match up with your CV, so make sure the jobs that are on your CV are also on LinkedIn and vice versa.

PLEASE NOTE!

I just can't keep up....

There are CONSTANT changes on LinkedIn as there are with all social media platforms and at the time of writing there are options to use creator mode and add services, I have done both as I am a business.

Assuming you are using LinkedIn for work and that is why you are using this course, don’t worry about those too much, or follow my good friend John Esperian on LinkedIn and get all the up-to-date info from him!

A quick overview of Creator Mode:

• It enables follow first so people have the main option to follow you not connect (they can still connect if you use the 3 dots and select it).

• You get access to newsletter creation - a much better version of articles where people can subscribe and get a notification every time you produce one.

• LinkedIn Live is open to all creator mode users, you still need to apply though.

• The jury is out on whether it affects reach. I have found it is fine for me but others hate it. If you are producing regular content give it a go!

They are rolling out these settings to everyone now so keep an eye out for the changes!

I will endeavour to update this course when I can so it stays current, if you have any feedback or updates you feel it needs please find me on LinkedIn and drop me a DM!

Comments versus content

The age-old question of should I be producing lots of content to get engagement or should I just be commenting? Well, the answer is both. But if you have a very small network to start with just posting content will not get you very far. Not many people will see it, especially if you’re just starting out. So, focus on commenting!

What you need to do is set aside a period of time every day (or week if time is tight but you get out what you put in), it need only be half an hour, to search out some posts that are relevant to something in your industry or things that you’re interested in, or people that you want to connect with, and comment on their posts.

You could search by hashtag for something in your industry that’s relevant to you, and then comment on some of those posts you find. If you look for posts that are well received, or people that are already getting good engagement, your comment could get seen by thousands of people. If you make a particularly funny or interesting or insightful comment, it could get liked by hundreds of people, potentially, that’s a lot of people you could invite into your network, or at the very least would suddenly find out who you are.

Consistency wins!

If you start doing this regularly, you build up people who have an interest in you, and who believe that you know what you’re talking about. Leaving insightful comments on other people’s content from your industry is really helpful. It can also encourage conversation and helps them on their posts so they will value it as well. You can also look for posts under the LinkedIn newsfeed. If you’re in the UK use LinkedIn News UK, or you can just use the general LinkedIn news one. I had one for example, that got seven-hundred plus likes and I did get quite a lot of leads from it, and some actual clients, because it got seen by so many people.

Build this into your daily routine to grow your network and increase your engagement. Once you’re starting to get far more engagement you can think about posting things. But don’t get too stressed about posting, and then not getting much engagement in the beginning, that’s normal.

It’s a long term game on social media, you’re not going to get overnight success. Very few people ever do, I won’t say no one because some do. But for most people, it’s a case of growing your network slowly, and your engagement will build in time. So, if you’re trying to look for opportunities and work, commenting and engaging with the people that are relevant to you and your industry is where you should be focusing your time.

Actions to take

So, now you should have your:

o Name and contact details

o Kick ass summary

o Key skills

o Career Highlights (if included)

o Career history – full of achievements and metrics

o Education and/training

o Any other info (see section 7)

So, you can now add ‘Excellent References available on request’ at the bottom as per the template or leave it off, it doesn’t matter TOO much but some ATS systems do like to see the word references.

Please now proofread your CV, or get someone else to. It is so easy to make grammar and spelling errors in your own work, I am a qualified proofreader and I still do it! Use spell check in Word (Review tab - Editor) as a first port of call but then get it read by someone else or read it VERY carefully yourself. Typos will not make a good first impression!

Printing it out can be really helpful! So try that and you might notice typos more easily and things like the spacing and layout. And use the Word option of read aloud, that can help pick up errors too.

Thanks again for buying the course, it means a lot to me and I hope it REALLY helped! Now go have an ice cream, you deserve it! :-)

DON'T PHONE - It's just for fun

Can you spot the 8 errors in this terrible CV?

There's no prize...but I will give clues to the answers below.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Clues to the mistakes are as follows:

1. Do you need a full address?

2. Is it in third person somewhere?

3. Oh what an embarrassing typo.... oops.

4. Does ATS like boxes?

5. Your first job was what?

6. Good spelling makes you look professional.

7. Don't forget that D in Art!

8. Interesting...or not.

If you have any feedback on the course please contact me via LinkedIn.

Need further support? Let's connect!