The New Year is the perfect time to start job hunting. All your resolutions about achieving a better work/life balance, building your career, and earning a bigger salary can inspire you to act. However, before you start browsing the job boards, or speaking to specialist recruitment agencies, think carefully about how you’re going to compete with the New Year rush.
January may be a fantastic month for personal growth, but it’s also a very competitive time. Making sure you brush up your CV before you approach potential employers may be the key to ensuring you don’t fall on the first hurdle.
Here, we’ll look at why you need a new CV for the new year, and what you need to include in it.
Refreshing Your CV: Removing Clutter
If it’s been a while since you dusted off your CV, you’ll need to go through it with a fine-toothed comb before you begin applying for roles again. Some of your qualifications, skills, and courses might not be relevant to the next step in your professional strategy, so don’t be afraid to remove anything that isn’t essential.
If you’re a seasoned professional, you’ll need to browse through your career history and refine the information you give to new companies, so you’re presenting the version of yourself that’s closest to what they’re looking for. For instance, if you’re looking for a job in manufacturing, then there’s no need to include the 6 months you spent in an entirely different role.
It’s also worth noting that the “Hobbies and Interests” section of the CV is becoming less common, particularly for those past the early stages of their profession. If you’re struggling to format your skills onto two sides of A4, then this segment can be the first to go.
Updating Your CV For the New Year
A new year means a new you, and that translates to more skills and experiences that you can add to your CV. As your plan for career development becomes more refined, you’ll be able to pinpoint the skills that are most important to a potential employer.
Outlining your achievements can be a great way to set yourself apart from other candidates. For instance, consider the times that you’ve gone above and beyond in your role, adding real value to a business. Use numbers and facts to really give weight to the things that you’ve achieved. For instance, instead of saying you “increased production” in your last product management role, tell interested parties that you “increased production by 60% in less than 6 months”.
Today, the perfect curriculum vitae isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for applying for any job. Instead, you’ll need to tailor your CV to the needs of your new organisation and role. Look at the critical skills that are relevant to the position you’re targeting. For instance, a project manager might need to highlight their talents with risk management, budget control, and stakeholder conversations.
4 Steps to an Incredible CV
A successful CV is a document that reflects the best version of you in the context of the new year, and the new career you want to apply for. Once you’re sure that you’ve removed any clutter that might be taking up space on the pages, use the following steps to tweak your finished results:
1. Double Check for Grammar Issues and Typos
No matter which industry you’re applying for, it’s worth noting that your employer will be looking for mistakes on your CV. If they find even a single error, then this can mean that your application ends up on the “discard” pile instantly. Before you send your CV anywhere, make sure that you double and triple check for mistakes that will make you look bad. When you are close to any document, it’s easy to miss typo’s or errors. Therefore it’s a good idea to have a friend or significant other look at the document one final time.
2. Fill in the Gaps
Leaving gaps throughout your CV can make your future employer wonder what you’ve been doing with all your spare time. If you weren’t working for a segment of time, put a positive spin on it by describing how you were developing your soft skills in communication and project management, or volunteering for local non-profits.
3. Remember that Looks Count
Having a CV that stands out for the new year isn’t just about making sure that you include all the right information. We live in a world where image counts, and that applies to your CV too. Make sure that you use example CVs and support from your professional recruitment agency to format your document appropriately and make it look great.
4. Always Tell the Truth
Finally, no matter how tempting it might be to exaggerate your skills in certain areas, ‘lying’ on your CV can land you in a lot of trouble. It’s always better, to be honest, and transparent about what you can do, and what you have accomplished in the past.
We are ‘South Wales Recruitment Specialists’ based in Cardiff, Wales.
We offer a full range of permanent recruitment solutions to many of South Wales’ and the South Wests’ leading manufacturing, technical, automotive and life science organisations. This includes companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot, Bridgend and the surrounding areas in South Wales.
Sigma Recruitment has one of the largest and most comprehensive recruitment candidate databases in the area. To get in touch with our team call us now on 02920 450 100. Alternatively, contact us here.
