Writing a CV that stands out

As a recruiter who has been in the industry for almost 7 years, I have had the pleasure of speaking to candidates from all walks of life and see a wide variety of CVs. The topic that I get asked the most about from candidates, friends, and family is all about CVs.

‘Where do I even start with my CV’
‘How do I make my CV stand out?’

Regardless of the sector, my advice is always the same be specific and do not assume that everyone knows what your job role is, as every role is different regardless of the job title. Unfortunately, when you google how to write a CV it will advise you to ensure you are a ‘team player that also works well on your own initiative etc and I find that people can get lost in trying to list all of their possible character traits without giving any examples explaining how they have put this into practice in their current or past employment.

My top tip would be to be specific about your experience and write it like a case study or like you are structuring an essay using the ‘PEE’ technique (Point, Evidence, Example).

• What are you currently doing? (Be Specific)
• Give an example of how you dealt with a situation positively
• What was the positive outcome of this example or how has this improved your current workplace?

For instance:

• I am confident at dealing with challenging behaviour
• In my current role, I support a young boy who is 13 with learning disabilities and displays physically challenging behaviour on a daily basis. Through reading his care plan and getting to know him I have a good understanding of his triggers and how to de-escalate his behaviours. When his behaviour becomes heightened, I will get down to his level and suggest we go outside for a walk in a calm soft voice and I can instantly feel the change in his behaviour. I have been supporting him for 3 months and the management team has noticed a significant decrease in his behaviours and have given me positive feedback about my ability to build a strong relationship with the young people.

How much more confident are you in my ability to deal with challenging behaviour after reading the second statement?

The benefit of going through a recruitment agency is that we know exactly what character traits our clients will be looking for on your CV and can support you to pull out the examples from your experience. It is important to not overload your CV with information, whilst also pulling out the experience that is relevant to the role you are applying to.

If you are looking for CV advice please do not hesitate to pick up the phone and reach out to us today or email us at info@riversrecruitment.co.uk