CV Tips to get you your next role
Getting a job is hard. There are thousands of people applying for the same job as you. You need to make your CV sell you. These CV Tips should help people in technical and non-technical roles have a better chance of standing out from the crowd.
How can I stand out from the crowd?
Here are some tips that I hope you find useful. These are my opinions bourne of years of looking for jobs.”As a seasoned professional, I have had the opportunity to serve as a hiring manager in some of my past roles. This experience has given me a unique perspective on the hiring process, allowing me to better understand what it takes to identify and attract top talent. With my expertise and proven track record, I am confident that these CV tips should help any tech people looking for their next role. You are not meant to implement all these tips and tricks. Instead, use these CV tips as a guidepost to enhance your CV.
Where to start:
I would recommend getting a load of paper and sitting down and thinking about where you are right now.
- What do you enjoy doing?
- Are there things in your role that you hate doing?
- If you could do your dream job, what would it look like?
- Who do you want to work with? and,
- Who do you want to work for?
Just having those basics means you have a launch point. Sometimes it is hard to write down the basics; however, I think this list is a good basis to start from.
Your next role:
Cyber Security is my industry and there are loads of jobs out there. Finding certain jobs can be more challenging than others. Let’s explore ways to improve your job-hunting strategies.
- Have you looked at your own company for a sideways move?
- OSINT – know everything about the company,
- Glassdoor – look at the company and people’s opinions,
- Chase contacts not just the company,
- See if you can arrange a half-hour chat with someone and work out if they are the kind of company and people you want to work with,
- Threshold – what will you accept and not accept about your work environment?
Consider broadening your search beyond the specific job title you’re seeking. Sometimes a job may have different titles:
- SOC Analyst
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Cyber Security Consultant
Job specifications are not an absolute list of requirements for a role. They are a set of guidelines that provide a general idea of what is expected. Begin by using the list you created earlier to match the role in front of you with your career goals. However, you will see that it is rarely a 100% match If the job requirements align with your skills and experience, don’t hesitate to apply for the role!
Your CV:
You should review your CV as often as you can. Tweak it, add to it and save the versions as you go along. With versioning, you can go back and refer to the ideas you had previously. This way, you can ensure consistency and track changes effectively.
CV Tips Headlines
- Don’t try and cram your life into 1-page. I firmly believe there should not be a page limit,
- Show off a bit – if you’ve done something document it. You can always remove the content later. Document what you have done first!
- Your jobs need to be in date order. The most recent should be at the top. Break down any activities into chronology,
- As you add each job, identify the skills from it and update your LinkedIn profile with those jobs and skills,
- Contentious one – I prefer one-column CVs.
Using “So What” in your CV structure
This is a killer CV tip (and general writing tip). Additionally, at the end of each sentence, write “So What?”.If a sentence doesn’t pass the “So What?” challenge, remove it. If you leave it in, the sentence will be a “filler sentence” which does not add to your CV. Consider either improving the sentence or removing it.
Use a template
CV Structure:
Disclaimer: These are my suggestions. I’m not saying doing these will get you a job. They will improve readability and make it easier for your hiring manager to understand who you are.
- Introduction Paragraph / Personal Profile
- Education / Qualifications
- Most recent first
- Things you’ve done / Awards
- Include any talks you have delivered
- Career History
- Company Name
- Job Title1
- Date
- Paragraph
- Bullets
- Job Title2
- Date
- Paragraph
- Bullets
- Company Name
- Interests and Personal Projects
CV Tips
- Do not include a photograph.
- A photo doesn’t add anything and some hirers may also be biased.
- Give the CV some breathing room, use the white space on the page.
- This means, using the margins down the sides, space between sections etc. Think about having ‘white space’ on the page.
- Allow room down the sides for interviewers to write.
- Hopefully, you get to the interview stage, so you will want them to take notes about you. Give them that space to write about you in the margins.
- Use indents to create the space.
- Indents in bullet lists give space without looking odd and can give the impression of structure and order.
- Be accurate with punctuation and grammar.
- Check every full stop and comma and make sure it reads good England. Use Grammarly or other tools to improve your text.
- https://app.grammarly.com/
- Use clear fonts and font sizes.
- Some fonts are easier to read, look at fonts like Arial, Calibri or Abadi which will make it easier to read – try using the Word built-in text formatting to make it easier.
- Keep to one font throughout.
- Consistent fonts and sizes throughout – too many different fonts can be distracting.
- Headers too – one font throughout and make it an easy-to-read font like Arial or Calibri.
- Use the NounProject.com for icons.
- If you want to use graphics, try icons from The Noun Project.
- https://thenounproject.com/
- Use colours to help highlight sections e.g. Company names in the Experience section.
- Subtle colour changes can help bring out titles.
- Avoid the use of harsh colours. Red colours could make your CV look like a warning letter!
- Include everything.
- When you first write your CV, add everything to it. From projects you have worked on to roles you have done. This allows you to add ‘skills’ into your text.
- Include any links to projects or websites that you have written. Github, Sourceforge, and demo sites.
- Each job should have a short paragraph that demonstrates the outputs of that role.
- Keep them about 4-8 lines long and to the point.
- “I did this… This meant that”
- You do not need to include why you changed jobs.
- Highlight your Ambitions.
- Are you learning something, but, haven’t completed the course yet? Add that in as an “Ongoing Education” section within your qualifications.
- Think about each sentence and ask, “So What?”
- See above – this will help to remove fluff sentences.
- Length of CV.
- If it goes over 2 pages, it’s fine. A long CV is fine, especially if you have had a lot of jobs. Think about cutting off though after a relevant number of years.
- Your “Personal Profile” should be in the 3rd Person.
- And yes, they are really hard to write !!
- “NAME is looking for a cyber security role that is going to challenge them…”
- Your CV should be in the absent 1st person.
- “Managed a team of 100 staff”
- Write your CV from your perspective (first person), but, avoid using pronouns. However, you could risk sentences becoming repetitive e.g. “I did this, I did that.”
- Use a CV Template.
- Word has great templates, there is one in this document
- Word CV Template
- Canva too
- https://www.canva.com/resumes/templates/
- Using a template helps with consistency throughout the CV.
Don’t believe me that these are useful? Have a read of Gary’s blog – and he’s a Headhunter !!
Consider the Discord Channel below for CV Roasts! Beware of the brutal feedback that you might get!
Learning Resources to Add Skills to your CV:
Feel like stretching the brain? Take a look at some of these resources to find out more about topics that you might be interested in and add courses to your Education section:
Next Steps for your CV:
- Re-do your CV,
- Think about where you want to work,
- Think about the roles you want,
- Mirror your CV on LinkedIn,
- Use these CV Tips to help improve your CV,
- Start looking at LinkedIn Jobs to see if you are missing skills from your CV,
- As a Tech person, think about related roles to yours,
- Not all job titles are obvious. Think about your role title and, other similar roles when job hunting.
Have a fab time and good luck finding that next role! Hope these CV Tips were useful.
Need a boost for your CV? I’m here to help! I offer personalized CV reviews at very reasonable rates. Let’s work together to make your CV stand out!
Additionally, I offer engaging talks on careers and CV writing, as well as mock interview sessions for schools, colleges, and universities. Let’s make your career journey a success!
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