Seema Chavda is Managing Director of Coach My CV, a UK-based company with over 40 years of experience working in FTSE100 companies recruiting professionals at all levels for finance and information technology sectors, revolving around a mission statement of “right person for the right role”.
During an interaction for the iMoney Show for iGlobal Radio, the recruitment expert talked through some of the crucial do’s and don’ts around creating that perfect job-clinching curriculum vitae (CV) and also highlighted the common errors jobseekers should steer clear of.
Here are some snippets from the discussion:
A: I worked with someone who was a project manager at a large pharmaceutical and then he came out of that industry and decided to do his own business in photography. He was also in the florist business on the side. When he came to me, he wanted to get back into project management.
So, we looked at the project management skills that he had and also the business skills that he had acquired. Then we explored what was transferable across and used that as key achievements. So, even though you may be in a different profession and want to transition across, it’s important to see what the similarities are and see which skills can be transferred and turn them into achievements.
A: The most common mistake is that people don’t put down detailed achievements. They just get a job spec and copy-paste the responsibilities related to that. The reason I stress that you must add your achievements is because that is the first introduction of you to the employer. It tells the employer how you added value, what you achieved, what you delivered and how you can stand out from other candidates, especially in the lockdown and the current market situation.
It’s really important to be able to stand out from your counterparts.
*Listen to the complete Coach My CV top tips podcast for the iMoney Show, here