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A GOOD CV: 5 DAY STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

5 DAYS TO A GOOD CV

Welcome to the first day on the road to your perfect CV. 

If you haven’t already read the best practice CV guide do so now, it will be helpful!

The first 4 tasks will focus on content – and not necessarily in the order they will appear on your CV.  We will be pulling all the elements together and focussing on layout on day 5.

 

BEFORE YOU START

You will need your most focussed mind.  So, book yourself a quiet room for at least an hour (good luck), put on Teletubbies, grab a coffee, lock the door, turn everything off, get comfortable and take your time (RULE 1). 

 

 

STEP 1:     SUMMARY

This is the most important – and most challenging section of your CV.  It is not only the DNA of your CV but it also has to be the glue that, within 20 seconds (best practice guide RULE 2), grabs and keeps your readers’ attention.

 

PART 1:     RELEVANT EXPERIENCE 

Obviously, you need to have the competency for the jobs you are applying for.  Otherwise, why are you applying?  RULE 5!  Certainly, this is what the reader wants to see.   Therefore each CV you send will be different.  Changes should be in this summary section and should not take long once you have a good base version.

Remember, you will have less than 20 seconds to get the most ‘RELEVANT-TO-THEM’ information across.  You need to make it crystal clear that you have the skills and experience necessary.  Keep the information relevant and succinct.  50 words or less.  Add detail later .  Let the reader decide you are a ‘keeper’ first. 

 

 PART 2:     WHY I AM APPLYING

50 words or less.  You have already relayed why your experience is relevant.  Now align the opportunity with your aspirations.  This adds relevance and it’s a differentiator!  Again, this will vary with each application but should not take long once you have a good template.

Click here for an example of A GOOD CV 

That’s it for day 1 – remember, take your time.  It is worth the investment. 

 

5 DAYS TO A GOOD CV: STEP 2

Welcome back.  Today, the focus is on your

WORK EXPERIENCE.

 

 

 

BEFORE YOU START

Obviously, you have reserved the quiet room for at least an hour (good luck), put on Teletubbies, grabbed a coffee, locked the door, turned everything off (except the PC).  You’re sat in a comfy seat and keen to invest time into doing justice to your career! 

USEFUL LINKS: Best practice CV guide       A GOOD CV

 

STEP 2:     EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Having grabbed the reader’s attention with your relevant and succinct profile, keep it!

This is another opportunity to differentiate yourself and impress with your ability to be precise and to the point.  Don’t worry about the layout yet, we will cover this on day 5.  Focus on the quality of the content for now and make sure it reflects your primary skills, responsibilities and, hopefully, achievements.

Reverse chronological order is a no-brainer.  The reader needs to know you are doing the right stuff now.  Not 15 years ago.  Note: the reader may not be a ‘dbe’ specialist so drop the acronyms and keep the wording real world.

 

Your experience over the last 5 years is the most relevant.  Provide relevant detail – keep referring to the job advert for clues.  Do not list all your BIM and BIM technology proficiencies here, we will do this later.

As the dates recede, experience becomes less relevant and requires less detail.  Do list all your professional work experience but anything over 10 years ago only requires one line (see Antony’s CV).

So:

The last 5 years’ experience: good, relevant detail required.

Previous 5  years’ experience: relevant detail should be provided but not as much as above.

Anything 10 years old or more requires very little detail other than when, who and what.

EG: A GOOD CV

That’s it for day 2 – remember, take your time and enjoy.  A good job is worth this investment!

 

5 DAYS TO A GOOD CV: STEP 3

Welcome back.  Today, the focus is on your

REFERENCES

If you disagree on including them in your CV, see A GOOD CV for how much impact they make.

 

BEFORE YOU START CHECKLIST

  • Teletubbies on ☐
  • Coffee ☐
  • Quiet room ☐
  • Door locked ☐
  • Comfy seat ☐
  • Everything off (except the PC) ☐
  • Enthusiasm ☐
  • Best practice guide open ☐
  • A GOOD CV open ☐

 

STEP 3:     REFERENCES

Apart from only having ever worked for one company I have yet to hear a good reason for not providing references up front.  Unless you have a bad track record in which case, I cannot help you!

 

Proving to the reader that you have a good track record is a massive differentiator.  So, why say ‘references available upon request’ when you will improve your chances of getting an interview by adding them on your CV?

 

Sometimes ‘the company policy…’ can get in your way but you can still get an off-the-record reference from a line manager who is happy to confirm you walk on water.  BUT PLEASE MAKE SURE not to mention their name or the company.

 

EG: On Antony’s CV.  If the company policy at DEF was only to let HR confirm how many days he had off sick then there’s no reason one reference couldn’t be:

 

LINE MANAGER at one of my previous employers:

Despite our company policy not to provide official references I can’t let an excellent employee down by not letting others know that he is a joy to work with, always delivers and will be an asset to any team he joins.

So, do yourself a favour.  Add a couple of glowing references.  Again, max. 50 words.  Try to avoid competing with Tolstoy.

Note: Please make sure they are genuine as previous employers will be contacted formally for references during the interview process!

 

That’s it for day 3 – remember, you are investing in your future.   Take your time and enjoy.

 

5 DAYS TO A GOOD CV: STEP 4 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

 

BEFORE YOU START CHECKLIST

  

STEP 4:     ADDITIONAL INFORMATION + ACTION

A less mentally challenging day today!

The point of keeping your CV relevant and succinct has been to capture the reader’s attention, create interest and ‘desire’.  If you have followed the guide so far, your profile, employment history and references will have made you a ‘keeper’.  Now, some additional information becomes useful.

You still need to avoid waffle if you want to maintain interest and desire.  After 32 years of reading CVs I can confirm that hobbies, religion and sexual preferences are not useful additional information.  So, what is relevant and in what order?

 

1:         QUALIFICATIONS: Higher level education is usually on the recruiters’ checklist so best include it here – but not secondary education, nor training courses (unless specified in the job description!).  What, where and when will suffice eg:

BSc. Architectural Technology: 1st Class:       Cambridge University:            2013

2:         BIM COMPETENCY: Very relevant.  It is highly likely the job description will include a shopping list of BIM and related technology competencies.  Because of the level of detail and space this will take up I prefer to see these clearly displayed in an attachment.  See BIM Competency and BIM Technology Competency form templates in the checklist above.

If relevant you should refer to this detail in your summary under RELEVANT EXPERIENCE (see DAY).  See ‘MY EXPERTISE’ in A GOOD CV for reference.

3:         RIGHT TO WORK: very relevant.  Confirm you are a UK passport holder or registration/naturalisation as a British Citizen, biometric residence permit etc.

4:         LOGISTICS:     If you were not brave enough to add your salary details above you can here.  It is a differentiator!  Also, the location you want to work in / commutable radius of.

 

AND, ACTION:

You are ticking all the right boxes, you’re a ‘keeper’ and now I want to invite you to an interview.  Complete your perfect CV with your email address at the bottom – where it can be found easily and at the right time.  Nothing else is necessary!

 

 That’s it for day 4.  Final day tomorrow – the fun part!!

 

 

5 DAYS TO A GOOD CV: STEP 5 

 

PRESENTATION!

Welcome back.  Today you complete your perfect CV by assembling all the content into a format that delivers.

 

 

 

BEFORE YOU START CHECKLIST

  • Teletubbies on ☐
  • Coffee ☐
  • Quiet room ☐
  • Door locked ☐
  • Comfy seat ☐
  • Everything off (except the PC) ☐
  • Enthusiasm ☐
  • All the content you have created so far ☐
  • Best practice guide open ☐
  • A GOOD CV open ☐

 

You will recall the need to grab the readers’ attention with 20 seconds.  The content of your profile is critical, but it is No.3 in the MUST DO list.

No.2 is your presentation – the layout of your CV.  If the reader is falling asleep by this stage, you can guarantee a 5 page, crowded, busy, verbose CV is not going to reach the ‘keeper’ short list.

THINK about your reader.  Do you want them spending the first 20 seconds reading where you live, your marital status, phone number, pretty picture and qualifications?  Don’t waste their time with your contact details yet either, they are only relevant if you pass the first test – do you have the right experience!

Let’s make it refreshing and enjoyable to read your CV.  Make it airy and let it flow:

 

‘AIRY’

Because 1st impressions count, especially when the reader has already binned 19 CVs, make yours stand out for being clean, simple and ‘airy’.  It should also make it easier to find the relevant information.  QUICKLY!

A 1-page CV is excellent but not at the risk of needing a map and a magnifying class to find all the information.  If you have to go to 2 pages, do so.  Remember to use the attachments for the BIM competency detail.

 

FLOW

Continuing the theme of making it enjoyable to read your CV, a logical, flowing CV also makes it easier to read and further differentiates you.

To understand what a good flow looks like, think from the readers’ perspective.  What information do they want and when?

 

1: YOUR NAME: First and last only (apologies if you have 15 names – think about the reader!).

2: CURRENT TITLE: You can’t get much more relevant than that!

3: CURRENT SALARY: I know it’s difficult to comprehend but what a differentiator!

4: SUMMARY: Why you are good for this specific opportunity (see DAY 1).

5: EMPLOYMENT HISTORY: More evidence of your suitability.

6: REFERENCES: Confirmation that you’re not just ideal on paper.

7: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Qualifications, eligibility to work, competency detail, logistics.

8: YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

 

 

IS IN GOOD THE DETAIL

Proof read your CV and then get someone else to. Check grammar. Check spelling. Check numbers.  Check again. Nearly every CV we receive has at least one spelling mistake!

 

And, lastly, NO.1 IN YOUR MUST DO list.  Having invested all this time (I hope) into creating an interview-worthy CV please make sure you don’t waste all that effort.  ONLY SEND IT TO RELEVANT JOBS – tweaking your summary as necessary.  The market is flooded with candidates who think they can do the job advertised.  The reader needs evidence that you can.  If you cannot provide that, move on!

 

That’s it.  Now you know how to make your CV sweat.  Go back through the steps to make sure you have nailed it.  Follow the golden rules and your CV will get you an interview.

 

GOOD LUCK!