In this blog, our expert recruitment consultants break down how to tailor your CV for the job you want step by step, so you’ll be set to impress employers advertising Gloucestershire job vacancies and beyond!
Picture the scenario:
You’ve found what looks like your perfect job in an online ad! Excited for the possibility of being hired for the role, you create a covering letter, attach your CV, and send everything off, full of hope…
… only to receive an email a few days later saying that you’ve been unsuccessful on this occasion.
If you’re anything like the other candidates we meet at i2i Recruitment who are applying for Gloucestershire job vacancies, the first question you’ll ask yourself is: Why?
While you can put it down to other candidates out there having more experience than you of course, a lot of the time it’s actually your CV that’s likely to be the problem. Or, more specifically, the fact that you haven’t tailored it to the role.
As we shared in our blog about the biggest CV mistakes, your CV needs to be personal to each individual role you apply for. A generic CV with all your experience on will be irrelevant to different employers, and make it look as though you don’t care about the specific role they’re advertising for.
In fact, 80% of CVs don’t get shortlisted by recruiters, so you really need to take the opportunity to stand out of the crowd with your CV!
The question is, then… how do you go about tailoring your CV for the job you want?
Let’s break it down:
8 steps to tailor your CV for the job you want:
1. Follow our guide to writing the perfect CV for your generic CV.
A little bit of a diversion for you, but if your CV isn’t currently up to scratch, it won’t do you any good to start tailoring it right away!
Following our guide, conversely, will give you a strong starting position to work from. You can read about how to write the perfect CV here.
Next, save this document, and make a copy labelled with the job role you’re applying for and the date. This means you’ll still have the generic copy to work from again later if you need to, and one to tailor.
This is also a good time to check that your contact details and experience are up to date!
2. Review the job description – thoroughly!
Once your generic CV is complete, it’s time to look at the job description again.
It’s likely that you’ll have skimmed over the job description when you first came across it to find the most relevant information to you – for example, salary, working hours, location, benefits and so on.
Now you’ve decided to apply, however, it’s time to review the whole advert and job description with a fine-toothed comb! As you go through, make note of any specific skill or experience requirements it mentions, as well as significant aspects of their business that you can relate to.
Then, next to each of these, write down how your experience lines up with each of them! This will act as your guide to refer to when you open your CV copy for editing.
3. Review your personal statement
This part of the CV is what’s going to capture your prospective employer in the first instance, so it’s essential that you tailor this correctly!
Most important is that you look at this from the recruiter’s perspective, and not inwardly. Focus on what you can do for the company, rather than what you are looking for.
For example, if you’re applying for a marketing role in a company that has mentioned that they’re hoping to expand their business, mention the marketing skills and experience you have that will help them to grow.
Additional tip: Try to keep this to around 50 words maximum. It’s challenging, but will make it more likely that employers will read the whole section, compared to if it’s a longer paragraph!
4. Highlight your most relevant former jobs/work experience
You may well have had a wide range of different jobs, whether paid or volunteering in the past, all of which will have given you a plethora of experience – and this is great!
However, bearing in mind the limited time that employers have, you only need to share the jobs in detail that are most relevant to them.
A manager at, say, a publishing company isn’t going to want to waste precious time reading in detail about when you, for example, stocked shelves at the supermarket. They’re probably more likely to want to read about the time you spent proofreading at the marketing company you used to work for!
Go back to the notes you made about the job description – in particular, any sections that specify what previous work experience the company wants you to have – and pick out the jobs you’ve done that are the most relevant fit, and go into detail about these.
You can then put the remainder of your job history as bullet points, including your job title, the to and from dates you were in the job, and the name of the company.
5. Review your qualifications
Again, an employer won’t necessarily want to know about all your qualifications – only the ones most relevant to the role you’re applying for.
At i2i Recruitment, for example, we recommend to our candidates applying for Gloucestershire job vacancies to include their GCSEs, A-Levels and (if applicable) further education qualifications as a list, then mention any other qualifications that best reflect the knowledge and skills the employer is asking for.
For example, if you’re applying for a role in digital design, mention any coding qualifications you’ve received.
6. Decide whether any detail in your “interests” section is needed.
If you don’t feel your interests outside of work relate to the specific role you’re applying for, keep them to a short, succinct bullet-point list (it’s still good to include them to show that you’re a well-rounded and interesting individual!).
However, if you have any hobbies or interests that can be directly linked to the job you’re applying for, then be sure to mention them, and how this relates to the job in question.
For example, if you’re applying for a role as a content writer and enjoy creative writing such as stories and poetry in your spare time, be sure to highlight that and why it’s relevant (and maybe leave your macramé hobby to the bullet points…!).
7. Pick out the most relevant references
Again, if you have a long job history, it’s important to highlight only the most relevant references. If you’re applying for a job as a Computer Software Engineer and have previously worked in IT Support, for example, make sure this previous employer is at the top of the list.
You can then add a line of “additional references available upon request” to highlight that you do have others, but that you are saving your prospective employer the task of looking through them all to find the most relevant ones. They’ll be grateful for it!
8. Go back to the job description, and cross-reference this with your CV
Once you’ve completed each of the relevant sections in your CV, go back to the notes you made from the original job description, and cross reference it point by point to check your CV includes them all.
Additional tip: This is also a good opportunity to give it a proofread and pop it over to other people to have a read of too for extra assurance.
Once you’ve completed all the above steps, you’ll be ready to apply for the job you want with confidence!
If you would like any further support with your CV writing, however, or applying for Gloucestershire job vacancies, our recruitment consultants at i2i Recruitment would be delighted to help. Simply register with us today to get started!
