Read this and am sure you will do the right thing with your job search thro’ CV

The internet has drastically changed how people approach job searching and how to write an effective CV. Years ago, the classifieds section of a news paper could only reach a limited number of job seekers in a limited area. Today the internet allows job seekers to apply for jobs, thousands of miles away.

The competition that this has created requires that CVs be more precise and outstanding than ever. A great percentage of job seekers find their jobs through the internet and by sending out a good digital CV.

Keywords.

The recruitment firm I work for - Corporate Staffing Services usually scans CVs for keywords related to what the client is looking for. It is believed that more than 80% of all CVs processed by employers are now searched for specific keywords before being forwarded to the relevant person. In terms of recruitment, keywords are typically nouns and phrases that represent specific areas of skill or experience that the employer identifies as important for the job.

Human Resources Personnel go through CVs and distinguish which ones contain more of these keywords than the rest. We are talking about words like leadership, organizational, administrative and many others as would be relevant to the job being applied for. With more employers relying on computers to screen CVs using keywords, job seekers must know how to make their CVs stand out from the thousands of others it competes with. My suggestion is to always make sure that when applying for a position you should carefully study the job description.

You must be honest.

Usually, there will be an outline of the basic skills needed for the job. This should give you a hint of the keywords that should be of interest to the employer. However, do not just throw words in there for the sake of getting the attention of the recruiting personnel. You must be honest.

Also, do not just fix those keywords anywhere lest you come across as someone who is groping in the dark. Place them where they matter most and where they catch the immediate attention of the hiring manager. If you are sending the CV through email, please send it as an attachment and in an standard format for ease of compatibility. Many job seekers embed the CV on the body of the email – this is unacceptable.

Also unforgivable is to send a document that requires a password to open.I need not tell you that doing so not only makes you seem insecure but also begs the question about how you expect me to know the password. Although, it would seem easier to send a p.d.f document, most employers seem to be wary of this because they may not like opening such documents. So a word document is best.

But if you want to protect your CV from tamper, a p.d.f copy is the best choice. Do not scan the CV and then save it as jpeg – often it will look distorted. The subject of your email should also catch the reader’s attention by featuring words that are more enticing than ‘CV’ or ‘Profile’

Common mistakes.

But beware: just because you have loaded your CV with keywords, converted it to the most compatible format and emailed it to an employer under an enticing subject doesn’t mean it won’t be discarded later due to other problems.

So, avoid the following mistakes that are often committed in CVs:

•  Typos or grammatical errors.
•  Including too much information.
•  Not listing achievements in former roles.
• Poor layout and / or design.
• Including tool little information.

Considering the extent of today’s competition and the huge numbers involved, CV writing is not a process you can afford to leave to chance.

Designing the right CV can make all the difference in the world. It will determine whether your candidacy rises to the top or sinks to the bottom of the heap.

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