Unsure on how to make your CV stand out? Let Grayce TEACH you

Grayce’s talent team are always on the lookout for bright new emerging talent and ways to help you reach your full potential.

Unsure on how to make your CV stand out? Let Grayce TEACH you:

T – Tailored
E – Experience
A – Achievements
C – Concise
H – Hobbies

Tailored
Whilst editing your CV for each role you are applying to (or each type of role) might feel like a chore, it’s crucial to ensure you are highlighting your relevant experience and any transferable skills. These should be brought to the top of your CV. Don’t forget to adapt your profile section too so it clearly demonstrates you have thought about the opportunity and how it aligns with your aspirations. Any hiring manager will know if you’ve not put in the extra effort to tailor your CV to their role.

Not sure what to focus on? Look at the job description or advert, this will tell you what they are looking for and you will be able to see what skills or experience are vital to the role.

Experience
Highlight the key skills you’ve gained through your experience – whether it’s paid work or voluntary work, personal study or professional study – it is all important as these experiences are what make you, YOU!  However, don’t just write a list of your key skills, although this is easy to do, it doesn’t give an understanding of the specific experience you have. Make sure to contextualise your key skills, this will enable the hiring manager to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for. It can be the difference between getting that first interview or not.

Not sure where to start? Let’s say you’re an excellent communicator, don’t just write “strong communication skills” in your CV. Instead, when discussing one of your roles relevant to the job, you could write “Demonstrated outstanding written and verbal communication skills when collaborating on a group presentation to the university. During this assignment, I was responsible for ensuring the content of the presentation was clear and concise and, where required, adapting my approach to the needs of the audience members.” See the difference?

Achievements
Don’t be afraid to emphasise your key wins so far, these can be personal, professional or academic. Employers are looking for evidence that you can really deliver. This is your chance to highlight the impact you have had as part of a team or individually. Where possible try and include facts or figures to back yourself up – e.g. reduced waiting times by 50%.

But I have no achievements? Of course you do! These achievements don’t have to be miraculous discoveries, it’s all about the impact you have had. Maybe you are working in retail currently, is there an example of a time you provided excellent customer service? Did you receive a shout-out from a colleague for your willingness to help others? Is there something that you feel particularly proud of? THAT is your achievement!

Concise
Though I’m sure you’ll have a whole host of things to talk about in your CV, don’t overdo it. A graduate CV should be no more than 2 pages long otherwise it won’t all be looked at by an employer, this is why it’s important to tailor your CV and highlight your experience. You don’t necessarily need to state all the grades you have achieved from GCSEs and upwards (unless the job posting asks for that information), focus on your highest level of (or most relevant) achievement.

SOS! My CV is too long! Don’t worry – use the job description or advert to determine what you can remove and what is going to be crucial in giving you the best chance of securing the role.

Hobbies
It’s up to you whether you want to include hobbies and interests in your CV. However, it’s something a lot of employers and hiring managers like to see! It won’t take up much room on your CV, but it will reiterate who you are as a person – your identity. So, if you’re an avid bookworm or an animal lover, shout about it!