to see the Slides from Gillian`s Career Zoo presentation

High Impact CVs

Gillian Knight CV & Interview Coach IrishJobs.ie Managing Director Kala Management Solutions Ltd.

Agenda • What is the purpose of a CV? • Who gets the interview and job offer? • A CV is a 20 second interview • A terrible 20 second interview • A high impact 20 second interview • Structuring the CV for 20 sec impact • Conclusion • Q&A .

What is the purpose of a CV? • Marketing document • Opportunity to impress a potential employer • Highlight your skills & experience

• Get called for interview • Secure a promotion

Who gets the interview & job offer? Employers will choose the candidate who has the best CV for the job NOT necessarily the candidate who is best suited for the job.

A terrible 20 second interview • Wasting space • Under/Over selling yourself • Bad grammar & typos • Bad formatting • Unprofessional photo

• Irrelevant/too much personal information

A high impact 20 second interview Here is what the interviewer wants to conclude after a 20 second interview: • • • •

Person has the skills I require. Person has experience of using the skills I require. Person understands my requirements. Person has provided benefit to previous clients using those skills.

• This person is perfect!

A high impact 20 second interview • Professional layout • Clear message • Matching role requirements • Can/Will add value • Has core competencies • Proven track record of success

Structuring your CV for high impact • • • •

Dates are aligned down the left hand side Job titles & companies are in bold Some key words are highlighted in bold. Education and training together with personal details can be listed at the end of the CV. • Only expand on more recent roles. • Reduce text on lower grade roles as you progress in your career. • Be succinct.

Conclusion • Writing a good CV is a skill itself. • The key is approaching the exercise as one in marketing and sales as opposed to writing an essay about ones life!

• Ensure you target the position directly with your CV and get the message across in 20 seconds that you are perfect for the role.

CV & Interview Help You’ll find my articles on the IrishJobs.ie blog www.irishjobs.ie/careeradvice I run the IrishJobs.ie CV Review Service and also offer one to one Interview Coaching. http://www.irishjobs.ie/careeradvice/cv-review

Thank you

Any Questions