Did you know that the maximum time generally taken to read a CV is 30 seconds, and in most instances is more like 7 seconds? That’s the time it takes to make a cup of coffee, or the length of a Tik Tok video.
Therefore, your CV needs to work hard for you, and quickly – it needs to make you stand out and differentiate and elevate you from other candidates.
Here are some ideas on how to personalise your cv:
If you are going to include a profile paragraph at the top of your CV, don’t make it generic. It could describe your trajectory - which might include working at companies that aren’t agencies - or an explanation of how you arrived at where you are today.
What are you proud of? Include achievements, accomplishments, highlights. Let your passion for what you do shine through.
Be sure to list any awards that you’ve won, be it in the industry or otherwise.
Add active links to work wherever possible.
Include details of any pitches you’ve worked on, even if they didn’t win. It helps to demonstrate your strategic skills when faced with the challenge of creating something from a blank page and illustrates the breadth of clients you have worked on.
Extra-curricular activities/interests/passions can be even more interesting to potential employers than work you’ve done.
Make sure your CV is easy on the eye. Don’t cram too much onto the page. Feel free to use headings, bullet points, different fonts, italics, and so on, but make sure the overall effect is clean and not too distracting from the actual content.
No CV should be more than 2 pages in length.
It goes without saying that you should check the grammar and spelling (you would be astonished how many CVs I receive that have not been properly proof-read…)
And finally, a word about REFERENCES. If you have been made redundant, make sure to ask for written references before you leave. Your employer’s/client’s memory of you will be much clearer when you are still an employee than further down the road.