Why does your CV need to have a wow factor? Research by the National Citizen Service is that recruiters are now taking an average nine seconds to look at a CV when short listing. This poses two important questions- how can they tell anything valuable about a candidate in such a short amount of time? And how can you show that you are fit for the job?

Let’s get some perspective: first it’s an average, and second it is highly likely that most internal recruitment consultants are the skim shortlisters –they can probably see key points quicker because they do it all the time.

However, what this research does emphasis is the need to think carefully about how you can make your CV stand out so it ends up on the ‘invite to interview’ pile, whether read for nine or 90 seconds. Here is how to do that:

GET INTO THE HEAD OF THE EMPLOYER

Your potential boss needs to see the benefit of you working for them. They need to see you have what they need – skills, qualities, abilities – and that you work hard and add value to the organization. So imagine you are recruiting for your job, and ask yourself, “What would I like to see to know this person could do the job well?”

The answer is a small number of exciting benefits and results, backed up by examples that are relevant to the job you are applying for.

Think about the impact you have in your current job. Did you increase income? Save the company money? Create an innovative procedure or product? Increase social media presence? Build a team? Increase reputation? 

Provide exceptional support or mentoring to others? What did you do really well? Then craft some powerful bullet points that demonstrate your impact in a company – don’t forget to explain what it was like before, so your potential boss can understand the changes you affected. For example: “Developed a social media campaign that increase twitter followers from 500 to 1500 in three months using targeted themes such as…”

MAKE YOUR PROFILE SPECIAL

Your profile is the three to for sentences at the top of the first page of your CV. They are possibly the most important sentences on your CV as the strength of your profile determines whether the hiring manager or recruiter will carry on reading. That can make it the hardest thing to be a summation of you and what you bring to the job but without lots of vague generic adjectives. Staying in the head of your prospective employer, ask yourself, “What are my unique selling points in relation to this job?” This can be specific skills, experience, interests, qualifications or passions.

ADD SOME FRILLS

While the wow factor is not about curly fonts, colour or a wacky layout, it is about being different to all the other candidates out there. You can do this by showing some extras that tell your prospective employer more about you (it has to be relevant to the role).

Show you can spot trends and hove opinions in your area of expertise – if you have written a blog, had something published or spoken at an event, relevant to your work life, include a link on your CV so they can check it out. Demonstrate you are connected – show you attend networking events in your field, have relevant connections on Linked In and participate in online group discussions.

Add a link to your LinkedIn profile where they can see recommendations, your group activity, any Pulse blog posts you have made, etc.

If you have a portfolio of work either on tumbler or your own webpage then include a link so they can view your creative work easily.

DON’T FORGET THE BASICS

Don’t lessen the impact of the content of your CV by not paying attention to the basic rules – here’s a reminder:

 No more than two pages. Less is more make sure it is not text dense, and allow plenty of white space around the text to make it easy to read, use bullet points and headings to give it a clear structure. No spelling or grammatical errors – check, check and check again. Having a CV that stands out will increase your confidence, create the right mindset for your job search, give you pride in what you have achieved and should land you an interview. – The Guardian