When you attend an interview for a new job you dress and groom yourself to look your best. There"s only one chance to make a first impression, and you do not want to miss it.
However the interview is not the first stage in the job-hunting process. Your CV makes your first impression. That piece of paper makes the difference between getting an interview or not, so it may just be time to take it down, dust it off, and see how it may be improved to boost your chances of getting that next job.
Let me give you a snapshot of what your CV is up against. As a manager in a busy debt management company my days were full. My contractual hours may have been from 9 to 5.30, but the reality was that I worked the hours needed to get the job done. It was not ideal, but it matches the situation of thousands of managers up and down the country. You start to get an idea of how much time they can allocate to recruitment.
Managers recruit because they need staff. However, because they need staff they are too busy to recruit. It"s a Catch 22, and the way around it is to fit the recruitment into small small time space as possible. Therefore when a CV lands on a desk it often has just seconds to stand out. People used to be surprised as to how quickly I would accept or reject a CV, but it"s a necessary evil. To get it"s owner an interview, therefore, a CV had to grab me straight away.
Have a look at your CV. Will it jump out at someone, or melt into the crowd? Be honest. If you do not think it stands out, but are unsure how to improve it, help is available to you. Plenty of web sites will offer you the chance to have your CV reviewed free of charge. They"ll then give you feedback, and will then upgrade for you – for a price. What they charge varies, and can run into hundreds of pounds, so shop around.
Improve Your CV to Boost Your Job Prospects
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