High Impact CVs

Gillian KnightCV & Interview Coach IrishJobs.ie

Managing Director Kala Management Solutions Ltd.

Agenda • What is the purpose of a CV?

• Who gets the interview and job offer?

• A CV is a 20 second interview

• A terrible 20 second interview

• A high impact 20 second interview

• Structuring the CV for 20 sec impact

• Conclusion

• Q&A.

What is the purpose of a CV?

• Marketing document

• Opportunity to impress a potential employer

• Highlight your skills & experience

• Get called for interview

• Secure a promotion

Who gets the interview & job offer?

Employers will choose the candidate who has the best CV for the job

NOT necessarily the candidate who is best suited for the job.

A terrible 20 second interview

• Wasting space

• Under/Over selling yourself

• Bad grammar & typos

• Bad formatting

• Unprofessional photo

• Irrelevant/too much personal information

A high impact 20 second interview

Here is what the interviewer wants to conclude after a 20 second interview:

• Person has the skills I require. • Person has experience of using the skills I require. • Person understands my requirements. • Person has provided benefit to previous clients using

those skills. • This person is perfect!

A high impact 20 second interview

• Professional layout• Clear message• Matching role requirements• Can/Will add value• Has core competencies• Proven track record of success

Structuring your CV for high impact

• Dates are aligned down the left hand side• Job titles & companies are in bold• Some key words are highlighted in bold. • Education and training together with personal details can

be listed at the end of the CV. • Only expand on more recent roles.• Reduce text on lower grade roles as you progress in

your career.• Be succinct.

Conclusion

• Writing a good CV is a skill itself.

• The key is approaching the exercise as one in marketing and sales as opposed to writing an essay about ones life!

• Ensure you target the position directly with your CV and get the message across in 20 seconds that you are perfect for the role.

CV & Interview Help

You’ll find my articles on the IrishJobs.ie blog

www.irishjobs.ie/careeradvice

I run the IrishJobs.ie CV Review Service and also offer one to one Interview Coaching.

http://www.irishjobs.ie/careeradvice/cv-review

Thank you

Any Questions