How our CV Reviews work:
Send your CV to office.winningwords@gmail.com, along with your Skype name if possible, or phone number, and we’ll be in touch to arrange a good time for a 10-minute chat about your CV.
What will we discuss?
We’ll discuss overall layout and whether your CV is compatible with CV scanning software or ‘ATS’. Many people still do not know about ATS – it’s the software employers or employment agencies use to electronically assess your CV to see if you are compatible with the role. A number of factors can interfere with the reader – particularly tables, pictures and textboxes – so those attractive infographics or effects may actually be interfering with the message you want to convey. Another thing to avoid if you can is PDF – use Word instead – it’s guaranteed to get through the readers. There is some disagreement about PDF, but if you want to know more, see this article: http://www.resumehacking.com/ready-for-automated-resume-screening
We will also discuss numerous other factors such as are your achievements coming across – are you standing out? This can be done in two different ways – first ensuring that the language used is active, concise and impactful – and connected with this is wherever possible to give yourself an achievements section. This is where most people struggle – getting the achievements that matter to come across in your CV.
Spelling, grammar and style – is the CV written well with accurate spelling and grammar? This is another area which is often neglected through no real fault of the owner – we get many CV orders in from those for whom English is not their first language, and we love to help those people get it all written in perfect English with all punctuation correctly placed.
Finally, we will check if all areas are clearly set out and in the right places – are dates, companies and job titles clear? Are your duties, skills and attributes clear to the reader?
