No matter what the job market, the way of standing out and increasing your chances of getting a job is to have a focused CV that will capture the reader’s attention.

Do

Length expectation varies from country to country, but generally in NZ, 2 pages is the best length. However, if you are an academic you may have a longer CV to cover everything.

Make sure the style is easy to follow, that headings are consistent and make each section stand out so that it is easy to navigate and information is broken down into manageable sized chunks. Use bullet points to help you to write succinctly and help the reader to find information.

Focus your CV on the job and what the organisation is seeking, so that they can easily see that you have got what they are looking for and that you are a good fit. Do not load it up with information that is not relevant, as this may take their attention away from the points that they are looking for.

Two important sections that are commonly left out are (1) A Career Objective or Personal Statement that clearly shows your career goal and purpose for sending this CV, and (2) a focused Summary Profile* of around 5-8 bullet points that highlights your skills, personal qualities, knowledge and experience for the job. These will be focused on what the employer is looking for that you have got.

The key headings that the employer is looking for in your CV is your:

o  Contact details

o  Career Objective or Personal Statement

o  Summary Profile*

o  Education/Qualifications

o  Experience

o  Voluntary work

o  Achievements

o  Brief, one line of your interests outside of work and study

o  Referees available on request

Don’t

You do not need to include the actual contact details of your verbal referees in your CV, but it is a good idea to indicate that you are able to provide them.

You don’t need to disclose everything in your CV. The idea is to capture the reader’s attention to get to the next stage where you will share more. It is not appropriate for you to share anything that is not about what you can offer to contribute to the job. The following is personal information that is not necessary to share at this stage because it is not relevant to whether you can do the job or not: gender, ethnicity, marital status, age, address etc. You also do not need to at this stage disclose mental health issues, neurodiversity, disability etc.

Do know

At this initial stage of making contact, you are telling them that you have got what it takes to do the job. You are capturing their attention so that you can meet them in person. When you meet them in person is a good time to show your personality and how you are a great fit, and to talk about anything else at this stage.

Know that the employer is looking for the right personality that will fit with the role, so do write your CV yourself rather than getting help from an AI chatbot. This is the best way of letting your personality show through and seek expert help from a human if you think this will help.