One size does not fit all
I have been applying for jobs with both Construction Companies and Consulting firms and my approach has been to use a one size fits all CV.
But I have now realized that a CV (curriculum vitae) must be targeted to appeal solely to the niche of employers and vacancies that I am applying to.
Not tailoring my CV was the most damaging mistake that I made when I wrote my CV.
If I could, I advise anyone to address one mistake on their CV, it is this one.
When an employer reads your CV, the fundamental fact they want to understand is whether or not you can do the job.
If the CV doesn’t include the skills and knowledge that the target employers are looking for, you won’t be shortlisted – no matter how well written and structured your CV is.
For instance both Construction and Consulting companies are interested in the type of projects you have worked on and your duties on each project. Construction companies have a further interest in the value of the projects you have worked on.
Do your research and find out exactly what your desired employers are looking for, then make sure that you are making those requirements prominent on your CV.
Wild unproven Claims
On the cover letter of my CV I used the following phrase to describe myself: “Most successful project manager in the industry”?
I have now learnt that writing these sorts of phrases on your CV may secure you a place on some reality show on TV, but they just look a bit embarrassing in the real world.
Claims like this are often impossible to prove and do not look very credible.If you want to prove your value to employers whilst remaining humble use facts and real examples of your success.
A “cool” email address
The email address I used to apply for jobs was ilovevodkaxxx@xxxx.com I seemed “cool when I created but it did not do me well in my quest to impress and appear credible, it’s was a big mistake to brand the top of my CV with that email address
It looked hugely unprofessional and had potential employers questioning my judgment and general approach to work.
If you do have a “cool” private email address, my advice is to set up a separate professional email address for your job hunting mail.
Not showing your impact
It’s great to demonstrate your skills and abilities in your CV but you also need to show what sort of impact they make on an employer.
Don’t simply state your responsibilities and knowledge – but go on to explain the results of your skills when you apply them.
For example, don’t just write;“Producing cost reports” Elaborate to show your impact for instance
“producing monthly cost reports on time resulting in project avoiding runaway costs which would resulted in the project being R5 million above projected budget”
It may not be possible to do this for every one of your responsibilities but try to do it where possible.
The addition of numbers/figures/facts is a great way to quantify your impact.
Not giving a high level summary of roles
When writing your role descriptions, avoid diving straight into the details of your responsibilities without setting the scene first. It will make it difficult for readers to understand how your work impacts your employer and how you could fit into a new team.
My advice …Start each role with a brief summary of what your employer/team does and how your work contributes to the organization at a high level.
Meaningless clichés
I used cliché Phrases like “works well in a team or individually” or “blue-sky thinker with a can-do attitude” which I thought looked fancy but they don’t actually didnt tell anybody much about me.
A CV should focus on hard facts like skills, achievements and industry knowledge.
My advice.. Concentrate on explaining exactly what you’ve done for your employer and how it has benefited the organisation to show the positive impact that can be made by hiring you – and demonstrate real hard and interpersonal skills.
Bulking out your CV with vague and overly complex descriptions like the one above will just confuse and annoy employers.
Reasons for leaving
Recruiters have told me I need to add reasons for leaving for all my previous employers on the CV but in my experience employers don’t need to see the reasons you left for every job on your CV. The purpose of a CV should be solely focused on attracting employers by selling your talents.
You will need to convey your motivation for leaving your current role and joining a new employer, but you can explain this briefly in your cover letter – don’t waste space on your CV with it.
Elaborate fonts
I used a fancy font to add a bit of elegance to my CV, but I have now realized it actually made my CV tough to read and gave employers a bit of a headache.
One of the most important aspects of an effective CV is that it should be easy for recruiters and employers to read.
Use a simple, clean font like Arial or Tahoma for a professional easy-to-read CV.
Logos and images
I had a CV with a lot of logos and images but it turns out logos and images aren’t necessary in a CV; they often aren’t formatted well and take up a lot of space on the page that could be better used describing your value with words.
Too many images can also inflate the file size of your CV and confuse CV scanning software, meaning delayed or failed delivery to some inboxes.
Keep things simple by using text only in your CV.
Unexplained Gaps in your CV
There was a period in my life when I was unemployed for a long time and I left that gap unexplained hoping to get an opportunity to explain if I am called for an interview
But the interviews never came and I learnt afterwards that if you leave a big gap in your work history without explaining it, it worries potential employers. It leaves a lot of room for imagination.
You shouldn’t be ashamed of including time out due to serious illness or unemployment . Illness/unemployment is something that’s out of your control and good employers will not discriminate against you for it.
It’s deceptively easy to make mistakes on your CV and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it.
These CAREERTIPS were compiled with the input from Construction and Built Environment Professionals (Hardhat Professionals)
If you are a Construction/Built Environment Professional and would like to participate send us your details here
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