Author: Mary Lou Nolan, Cor Consulting

For a winning CV, ‘content is king’. Below are 5 top tips in optimising your CV content to secure that interview:

1. Research shows that a CV reviewer takes on average 10 seconds to decide to continue reading or not and many do not go beyond the first page, so be sure to put the most relevant information first. Think of your CV as a sales document, selling you. What is the top skill and experience the employer is looking for that you offer?  Include this in the profile section (see no.2).
2. Include a profile section about yourself at the top of the document. This should be a short paragraph summarising your relevant experience, skills, traits and what type of role you are looking for to leverage these which should align with the role you are applying for.
3. Be sure to write about your achievements in each role rather than a list of responsibilities; just because you are responsible for something does not evidence you are any good at it whereas writing achievements provides that evidence. Use past tense action words to start each sentence such as: transformed/ led/ achieved/ delivered.
4. Often its an algorithm that scans your CV first so be sure to use keywords from the role specification and pepper throughout your CV.
5. Finally, be concise – 3 pages max., never use I and avoid jargon and acronyms.