cvservices.net : a better career : the art of career narrative

Recruitment professionals live in a deluge of CVs, so many that they barely know how to cope. They have seen every error you can possibly make and if you want a witty summary of these go to the BAD CV page within CV Special.

It is a feature of modern life that we all receive too many messages to respond to properly or even to understand fully. It follows that unless the messaging in your careers materials is superb, different, relevant and original it may end up, it will end up, being glanced at but not even read through.

Imagine a person channel hopping when they have 50 TV stations to chose from, all with nothing on. This is how our recruiter feels. She is not looking for templates from a computer program full of idiotic "profiles", "objectives", unsubstantiated superlative bullet points and embarrassing jargon that nobody takes seriously - about your "communication skills" and your "ability to work in a team or be a self-starter".

Nor is he impressed by the lavish "executive folders" that some typing agencies will try to sell you, not by wild design, text boxes, flashy fonts, coloured paper, clever gimmicks...

People are impressed by the ring of truth and the scent of genuine intellect:

by writing that is unpretentious, by a mindset that is both divergent in scope and convergent in telling detail, by evidence of your ability to imagine what they really do need to know and to make that information rapidly intelligible.

There is no need for a CV to be embarrassing; it can read as a natural narrative of working life well conducted, with additional material that puts across the special qualities of the author; there are no rules any more about how it should look and because the CV form uses a special kind of grammar (that isn't in your Word 97 checker) it very rarely contains a true sentence and therefore can make more dynamic use of language, as an advertisement might.

The key source of error is fear and anxiety; some people cope with this by playing safe and being formal; others cope by being silly. You need to be daring but in a mature and focused way; to be relevant; to select and prioritise what you say about yourself; to link achievements to proof wherever possible and show each appointment or project as a process.

Never copy down the original job definition or the list your company puts out during appraisal time. Your CV needs to read naturally and tell a story. It must invoke in the person who reads it a sense of who you are and the best you have to offer.

They are looking to find the right person, not looking to reject the wrong person. The right person is not afraid, not boastful, not too conventional. The right person has lots of talents and a good track record, whether or not they have immaculate qualifications. The right person can be you!

Version anxiety:

Received wisdom tells you that for every job you apply to you need a new version of your CV and covering letter. This is absolute nonsense. The so-called experts on CV writing, that is journalists who have read what other experts said five years ago, will always give you this advice but I have only had 20 clients out of 3000 in the last decade who needed two separate versions of their CV.

There is a core best story of who you are in career terms. Bending it to match a job description which in turn is only make believe is a stupid waste of your valuable time and it is not what I mean when I talk about getting noticed. Getting noticed is a 10 second opportunity at the most.

Usually all you need is one core CV document and one letter skeleton that you can adjust if and when the occasion arises. Your main goal is to show that you have understood what the recruiter is looking for and can meet or exceed their requirements. Or, if you are making a speculative approach, that you can imagine what their organisation may be needing in terms of human resource. Simply writing in with hope is a waste of time.

You need general but not particular relevance. You do not have to address every single point in the person specification individually - you can summarise and use language in an elegant way that will make you appear more intelligent. The letter of application is a golden opportunity to express your vision and your ability to provide solutions; it needs to be brief, rhythmic and brilliant... even daring.

If you have a CV with a logical structure and sequence that fully reflects your abilities it will probably stand as it is for any application you make in your field. That is why when the CV is originally created it needs to express all the functionality and achievement in your career.

The originator of that wrong advice making everyone panic was probably a recruitment consultant 20 years ago who was sick to death of boring and irrelevant CVs. It doesn't apply to you, today, because you won't be making dull, conventional and information-starved applications.

A "talking CV" and a lively letter will stand you in good stead for almost any occasion; have them ready on your computer for when opportunity comes; don't wait and then panic in the false belief that every application needs creating anew.

Recruiters can be very sophisticated individuals. There is no need to second guess them. Just lay out your case in a mature way and let them exercise their professional skill to assess what you have to offer. Be human to them and they will be human in return.

These topics are covered in greater depth in CV Sage with examples and exercises.
Take a look!