On average employers can receive between 200-300 CVs for every advertised job – That’s a lot of competition, so you need to ensure your CV sticks out above the rest.
Due to the large amount of CVs employers receive, they tend to spend around 30 seconds “skimming” through your CV, quickly making a decision to put your CV in the successful applicants or none successful applicants pile.
If your CV has made it to the successful pile the employer will then re-read each CV in more detail deciding which applicants (5 candidates per position on average) to interview.
The following tips and hints will give you the upper hand on other candidates, some of the tips may seem obvious, but you would be amazed about the amount of job searchers who don’t gain interviews due to small errors:
Always send a covering letter-this will make your CV look more professional:
- Keep the covering letter on one page
- Highlight the key skills needed for the job you are applying for
- Add information about the company you are applying to, as this will individualise your application
- Ensure your CV looks neat and tidy; no creased corners or coffee stains
Tailor your CV to every job you apply for:
- Read the job specification and add/change your personal profile and job duties to match those of the position you are applying for
- Ensure the essential skills, qualities, experiences and qualifications needed for the job role are added to your CV
- Delete any information from your CV that is not relevant to the job you are applying for
- If you are applying for several different job roles, use a tailored CV for each job role
Once you are employed, keep your CV up to date, as this will save time in the long term:
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- Change your contact details if you move address or gain a new phone number/e-mail address
- Add any new training and qualifications that you gain
- Record any achievements in your current position as you achieve them
Speculative Application
You don’t have to wait for jobs to be advertised, speculative applications are often a quick and easy way to apply for work, and many people don’t use this technique to apply for work.
Go on www.yell.com to find specific companies to which you would like to apply. Once you have the company address send out your CV and a Speculative Covering Letter (see attached Covering Letter PDF) research has shown there is a 40-45% success rate in doing this. My own personal experience has shown that there is a 30% success rate – even if this figure was 20% I would recommend Speculative applications as they require minimal effort, little time and I can personally vouch for their success as I have gained several jobs through this method.
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