As a career change consultant and a senior recruitment manager I’ve read and reviewed hundreds of thousands of CVs. The most impactful Resume’s always include clear and well quantified accomplishments and skills that closely match the essential criteria listed on the job description for the vacancy.
If you’re preparing your CV to apply for a new job role, it’s really important to demonstrate your expertise to the hiring manager effectively. You will increase your chances of being shortlisted for an interview when you tailor your CV to each unique vacancy.
Many candidates miss the mark, and the opportunity, by writing duty-oriented CV’s that simply highlight a list of their daily responsibilities.
This approach doesn’t sufficiently evidence your impact, or the unique value that you can bring.
You may have all the right skills to do the job, but if you don’t clearly quantify your experience, the employer won’t have the evidence they need to be convinced that you are a strong candidate for their vacancy.
In this competitive market, it’s really important to demonstrate that you are the solution to the hiring managers needs.
Put yourself in their shoes – the hiring manager will be reading your CV to check for relevant experience and impact. You will increase your chances of seeing more positive outcomes in your job search when you clearly and succinctly quantify your most comparable accomplishments.
To do so, start by reviewing the job description closely and identifying the essential criteria for the vacancy. Then think about your experience and draw out some of the key achievement stories in your work history which would most aptly align with the requirements of this role.
Also think about how you and your past work contribution has:
- Demonstrated impactful leadership, vision or initiative.
- Solved a significant problem or challenge.
- Increased revenue for your organisation.
- Saved money for your organisation.
- Improved team performance and/or morale.
- Led a team or an organisation to adapt to change.
- Increased efficiency.
- Improved customer satisfaction.
- Achieved a significant measurable outcome.
Then select the most relevant key achievements that you are going to include on your CV, and quantify each of them.
For example:
Talent Acquisition Manager:
- Designed and implemented a direct sourcing recruitment strategy, that resulted in us filling 22/22 roles directly at a cost avoidance of £120,000 in recruitment agency fees within the first 6 months.
- Designed and delivered robust training for hiring managers on the recruitment process that resulted in a 35% reduction in time-to-hire, increased quality of hires, and improved organisational performance.
In conclusion, by tailoring your CV to include a wide variety of real concrete achievements that are relevant to the essential criteria and core requirements listed on the job description, you will provide evidence to the hiring manager that you are capable of delivering real impact to their team, and this will exponentially increase your chances of securing an interview.