How To Sell Yourself On A Cv (step-by-step Guide)
Alright, let's talk about that magical document that lands on every hiring manager's desk: the CV. Think of it as your personal billboard, but instead of selling dodgy holiday deals, you're selling the most precious commodity of all – YOU. Now, some people treat their CV like a grocery list of past jobs. Boring! We're going to do better.
This isn't about lying or inventing a secret life as a unicorn whisperer (unless that's genuinely a skill you possess). This is about making the real you shine. So, grab a cuppa, settle in, and let's turn that dusty old CV into a dazzling advertisement.
Step 1: The "About Me" (Without the Creepy Stalker Vibes)
Forget the generic "Highly motivated individual seeking challenging role." Yawn. This is your chance to inject some personality. Imagine you're telling your best mate why you'd be awesome for this job. What's your superpower? Are you the person who can calm a room of stressed-out pigeons? The one who always finds the lost stapler? Be specific. Instead of "good communication skills," try "Master of the diplomatic email, capable of explaining complex ideas with the clarity of a freshly wiped window." Or, if you're more of a verbal whizz, maybe "Fluent in the art of persuasive conversation, can talk a squirrel into sharing its nuts."
This section is your trailer. Make people want to watch the whole movie. Think of it as a mini-elevator pitch. You've got about three sentences to hook them. If your CV were a dating profile, this would be the "About Me" that actually makes people swipe right.
Step 2: Experience: It's Not Just What You Did, It's How You Did It
Here's where many CVs go off the rails. They just list responsibilities. "Managed social media." So what? Did you turn it into a viral sensation that made the company a gazillion pounds? Did you accidentally delete the entire company archive? (Hopefully not the latter!)
Every bullet point should scream ACHIEVEMENT. Don't just say "Organised meetings." Say, "Streamlined meeting scheduling process, reducing no-shows by 30% and saving valuable coffee break time." See the difference? It's about showing the impact. Use action verbs like "Implemented," "Developed," "Increased," "Reduced," "Transformed." Make them sound like you're James Bond, but for spreadsheets.
Think about the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), but keep it snappy for the CV. For example, instead of "Assisted customers," try "Resolved an average of 50 customer queries per day, resulting in a 15% increase in positive feedback scores." We want quantifiable wins, people!
Step 3: Skills: The "So What?" Test
This is another minefield. "Proficient in Microsoft Office." Honestly, if you can't use Word and Excel these days, you might as well be applying for a job as a medieval scribe. We need more than the basics.
Think about the specific skills that job description is begging for. Are they looking for someone who can wrangle data like a rodeo champion? Or perhaps someone who can charm clients like a seasoned diplomat? List those. And don't just list them, give them a little sparkle. If you're good at "problem-solving," how about "Uncanny ability to untangle complex issues and find elegant solutions." If you're a whizz with spreadsheets, try "Excel wizardry: can transform raw numbers into compelling stories."
And don't forget those "soft skills." Things like "teamwork," "adaptability," and "resilience" are gold. But again, give them some flair. Instead of "team player," maybe "Collaborative spirit: thrives in group settings and enjoys making sure everyone else looks good too."
Step 4: Education: It's Not Just About the Grades
Unless you're fresh out of school and those grades are your main selling point, your education section needs to be more than just a list of degrees. What did you learn beyond the textbooks? Did you lead a project? Win a debate competition? Design an award-winning… something? Highlight those extracurricular triumphs.
If you did a particularly quirky or relevant course, mention it! For example, if you're applying for a marketing job and you took a module on "The Psychology of Supermarket Checkout Music," that's interesting! It shows you think outside the box. Frame your education in terms of what it equipped you to do.
Step 5: The Finishing Touches: Make it Pretty (But Not Too Pretty)
No one wants to read a wall of text. Use bullet points. Use white space. Make it easy on the eyes. Fancy fonts? Generally, a no. But a clean, readable font like Arial or Calibri is your friend. Keep it to a maximum of two pages, unless you're applying to be the next Poet Laureate of the United Nations.
And proofread. Oh, for the love of all that is holy, PROOFREAD! A typo in your CV is like showing up to a fancy dinner in your pyjamas. It's a small thing, but it screams "lack of attention to detail." Get a friend to read it. Then get another friend to read it. Then bribe your cat to sniff it for errors (they're surprisingly discerning).
So there you have it. Your CV, transformed from a dusty relic into a captivating narrative. Go forth and sell that magnificent self!