If you have been out of the formal workplace for a while, there is often a chasm between resolving to get a new paid job and actually doing something about it. Things get in the way, like a lack of confidence, negative chatter in your head or from others, and feeling unprepared.

My first clients were all return-to-work mums who had all of the above going on (as if they had not be “working” all the time anyway!).  They would talk about how things had moved on since they were formally employed, that their IT skills were out of date and worry that the lack of continuity in the timeline of their CV made them weaker as a candidate.  In their heads there were many ‘reasons’ why it was all too overwhelming.

I was a bit frustrated about this.  Mainly because I could see that these people had held down serious jobs with serious responsibilities and delivered serious outcomes for their employers.  Additionally, they had not spent the intervening years painting their nails, but had been budgeting, planning, organising, communicating, negotiating, resolving conflict, empathising, networking, multitasking and much more.

So, when I started New CV it was to prove to these women that with some planning, research, incisive questioning and articulate writing, along with a spot of self-indulgent Thesaurus reading on my part, we could write them a CV that demonstrated their achievements and professional brand. And with this, the pre-career break confidence that made them so employable before reappeared!

I am delighted to say that in most cases times have moved on and career gaps are much more acceptable than they were in 2013, LinkedIn even has a section under Experience to showcase them.  No more hiding the gap!

So, if you resolved to get back into the formal workplace this year, take heart, the keywords in paragraph three above are a small sample of the transferable skills sought by employers. You probably have more.  You can use them in your CV to show you are relevant, prepared, confident and ready to contribute!
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Good luck with the job search.

KEYWORDS are the tools that unlock the door to an interview, so knowing why and how they are important is crucial to the success of your CV when you apply for a job.

CV writing in the 21st century is an art and a science, you need to write a concise, well-constructed CV in a business-like format and you need to use the right language.

To give your CV the best chance of being selected by ATS (applicant tracking systems) you need to know a little about how this process works. ATS parse CVs to gather data and rank the CVs in order of relevance. They are screening for name (in a plain format), contact details, job titles and keywords relating to the specific role’s job description. If the words are not there, your CV is invisible.

What are keywords in a CV?
In a CV, keywords are specific terms and phrases related to a job and or industry. They reflect the skills, experience and attributes employers seek in a candidate. Keywords can be technical skills or more general competencies.
Both functional and self-management keywords are important because one shows what you can do and the other shows how you fit the person description of a role.

Functional Keywords
These are specific to the tasks and responsibilities associated with the role. They often reflect technical or job-specific skills. For example:

• Technical Skills: "Java programming," "financial modelling," "Adobe Photoshop."
• Industry-Specific Terms: "Agile methodology," "supply chain logistics," "patient care."
• Certifications and Tools: "PMP certified," "Google Analytics," "CRM software."

Functional keywords highlight your ability to perform the core duties of the role and including them ensures the ATS recognises your expertise.

Self-Management Keywords
These reflect your ability to handle work environments and interpersonal relationships. They are crucial for demonstrating workplace readiness. For example:

• Soft Skills: "time management," "adaptability," "problem-solving."
• Leadership and Collaboration: "team player," "mentoring," "cross-departmental collaboration."
• Work Ethic: "self-motivated," "deadline-driven," "detail-oriented."

Self-management keywords are particularly important for roles requiring leadership, teamwork, or client interaction. They showcase your ability to thrive in professional settings.

How to Use Keywords Effectively in Your CV
1. Analyse the Job Description
Carefully review the job posting and identify frequently mentioned skills and responsibilities. Highlight these keywords and incorporate them into your CV where appropriate.

2. Strategically Place Keywords
Integrate keywords into critical sections of your CV, such as:

• Profile or Summary: Use high-impact keywords to immediately capture attention.
• Skills Section: Create a dedicated section listing key competencies.
• Experience Section: Weave keywords into your job responsibilities and key achievements.
• Education and Certifications: Include industry related qualifications.

3. Be Authentic
Avoid "keyword stuffing," which involves overloading your CV with terms in an unnatural way. Instead, focus on demonstrating how you’ve applied these skills in real-life scenarios and achievements.

4. Tailor Your CV for Each Role
Customising your CV for each application is critical to make sure you are speaking directly to that role. Different roles may prioritise different keywords, even within the same industry.

Knowing and Using Keywords is an Investment
Keywords help to unlock the door to an interview when ATS is parsing your CV and when a human is reading it. For the latter, as well as showing your skills, they demonstrate your value and make a compelling case for why you’re the best fit for the job.  So, investing time in optimising your CV’s keywords is time well spent in your search for that dream job.

ATS, or an Applicant Tracking System, is a type of software used by companies and recruiters to speed up the hiring process through partial automation.  It helps them to manage large volumes of job applications by scanning, sorting and filtering CVs based on specific criteria such as keywords, skills and qualifications.

Understanding ATS and how it works can significantly impact the success of failure of your job application, as many companies rely on this software to filter out unqualified candidates before a human ever reviews the application.

How ATS Works
Initial Screening: When you submit a job application, the ATS scans your CV for relevant information based on the job description. It is programmed to look for keywords such as skills, job titles, education and qualifications that match the employer’s requirements.

Ranking and Sorting: The ATS ranks applicants based on how well their CVs match the job description. The higher your CV ranks, the more likely it is to be seen by a recruiter or hiring manager. Low-ranked CVs may not even make it to the next stage.

Data Parsing: ATS breaks down your CV into categories such as work experience, skills, and education and then matches those against predefined criteria. If your CV is not formatted in a way the system can easily read, it may misinterpret or overlook key information.

Keyword Matching: ATS software often includes filters to identify CVs that include specific keywords or phrases from the job description. For example, if the job requires experience with “Python programming,” but your CV doesn’t include that phrase (even if you have the experience), the ATS may not rank your CV highly.

Tips for Making Your CV ATS-Friendly
Use Job Description Keywords: Study the job description carefully and incorporate relevant keywords and phrases into your CV.

Keep the Formatting Simple: To avoid falling foul of the ATS use standard fonts (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman) and avoid images, borders, shading and graphics. Stick to simple section headers like “Work Experience” and “Education”.

Avoid Headers and Footers: Some ATS may have difficulty scanning information in the header or footer of a CV, so keep key information, like contact details, outside these areas.

Focus on Specific Skills: Tailor your CV to highlight relevant skills that the ATS is likely to search for. If you have multiple skill sets, ensure they are clearly listed in a skills section.

Use Standard Job Titles: Where possible, use standard or common job titles that relate to the job you are applying for. If your previous job titles were unconventional, consider tweaking them slightly to reflect more common terminology without misrepresenting your role.

Submit in the Right Format: While some ATS can handle PDFs, others prefer or require Word documents. Always check the job posting or company’s instructions to see if they have a preference.

Include a Skills Section: A dedicated section for skills is often beneficial because ATS systems can easily scan and identify key competencies.

Need to Know…..
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) plays a crucial role in the hiring process, especially for companies that receive a large number of applications.

By optimising your CV for ATS with relevant keywords, simple formatting and customised content for each job application, you can increase your chances of getting noticed and advancing to the interview stage. 
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For more information on how to get your CV up to scratch, contact [email protected]

A skills-based CV (also known as a functional CV) is a type of CV that emphasises your skills and abilities rather than focusing primarily on the chronology of your work history. This format is particularly useful for job seekers who want to showcase transferable skills or competencies that are relevant to the position they are applying for, rather than drawing attention to a chronological career path.

The key facts about a skills-based CV are:

1. Emphasis on Skills and Competencies
You group your skills into key areas such as leadership, communication, problem-solving or technical abilities, and under each heading provide examples of how you have demonstrated these skills in various contexts.
For example:

• Leadership: Led a team of 10 employees, increasing productivity by 15% over six months.
• Communication: Delivered presentations to stakeholders facilitating project approval for a £500k initiative.

2. Minimal Focus on Chronology
Unlike a traditional chronological CV that lists your work history in date order, a skills-based CV downplays the timeline. The work experience section comes later in the document and usually provides only basic information like company names, job titles and dates, without detail about your roles or responsibilities.

3. When to Use a Skills-Based CV
A skills-based CV is most effective in situations like:

• Career transitions. When your previous job titles don't clearly align with your target role.
• Changing roles: Skills-based CVs allow you to showcase skills from a previous role that are applicable in a new industry.
• Limited work experience: If you have a history of short-term roles.
• Employment gaps: When you have breaks in your employment history but want to focus on what you can bring to the table because a skills-based CV shifts the emphasis from specific job periods to the expertise you have developed.

4. Structure of a Skills-Based CV

• Personal Information: Start with your name, contact details and LinkedIn profile URL.
• Personal Statement/Professional Summary: A brief paragraph outlining your key skills and strengths. This section summarises how your skills align with the job you’re applying for.
• Skills Section: The core of the CV, where you list key skills under specific headings, followed by examples of how you’ve demonstrated these skills in previous roles, volunteer work or education.
• Work Experience: A simplified section where you list the places you’ve worked, job titles and dates of employment with less emphasis on specific duties than in a traditional CV.
• Education and Professional Development: Information about your educational background and any relevant certifications, CPD or training.
• Additional Information and Hobbies: This can include volunteer experience and hobbies and achievements related to them, or other skills that may be useful for the job such as having a driving licence.

5. Advantages of a Skills-Based CV

• Focus on strengths: It helps you highlight the abilities most relevant to the job, particularly if your previous roles don’t match exactly.
• Minimises the impact of employment gaps: It downplays the timeline, making it less important if you have gaps in your work history.
• Tailored for the job: You can easily adapt it to suit the skills required in the job you are applying for, allowing you to position yourself as the best candidate.

6. Disadvantages of a Skills-Based CV

• Less detail on career progression: Since work history is secondary, this format doesn’t show a clear career trajectory, which might be important for some employers.
• Unfamiliarity: Some recruiters may be more used to chronological CVs and may prefer to see a more traditional format.

In summary, a skills-based CV is ideal if you need to emphasise your skills and experiences over your job history, making it a great option for career changers or those with gaps in their employment. By focusing on what you can do, rather than where you’ve been, this CV format helps you demonstrate your value as a potential employee.

If you are thinking of writing a CV it pays to do some research first.
​It used to be OK to create a document with your name, address, a list of where you have worked and or studied and some reference names at the bottom; but in these days of AI led recruitment and LinkedIn searches, it really does pay to be a bit savvy before putting pen to paper.
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Here are 5 things you need to consider before you write your CV:
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1. Who is reading your CV?  If you do not know who is going to be reading your CV you need to make sure it works equally well for a human reader and AI.  ATS - applicant tracking systems, are programmed to search for keywords based on the person and the skills the recruiter is looking for.  

2. What does a recruiter want to know?  It is not good enough to feature your previous job descriptions hoping that the information will match the specification of the job you are applying for.  Recruiters want to see how you contributed, your key achievements and that you have made a difference in previous roles.

3. What are the keywords for the role you want? This is pretty straight forward, if you don't know what the keywords are then your CV is unlikely to include them and therefore will undersell you to the human reader and be invisible to AI.

​4.  Did you know that you must tailor the CV for each application?  Know what you need to say in your CV in order to have an impact on the recruiter.  That does not mean you lie, it means you emphasise the skills the recruiter is looking for and edit out the irrelevant bits to make a punchier, more compelling read.

​5.  What are the company's values? Look at the website of the company you are applying to to find out what their mission statement is and what they value.  If you are not able to reflect these in your CV, you will definitely have the opportunity to do so in your cover letter.  

Writing a CV is not complicated, in fact the subject matter is at your finger tips (or in your head!).  The important thing is how you write it and what you do and do not say, so taking the time to do your homework will reap rewards later.  

For further information about CV writing contact CV experts New CV. 
#cvwriting #writingacv #cvtips # cvhelp #cvwritingservice

Graduating from university or college is going to not going to be the same this year; let's face it, what is? 
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Whilst the experience will probably not be the big day full of fanfare that everyone expects, the process of graduating, of finishing that stage of life and moving to the next, will still happen.

The reality of this period of change and the need to get a job can be phenomenally daunting for both the young people and their parents and, often, the favoured route is to start applying for jobs without taking stock of what the graduate has to offer an employer. 

After the champagne is finished and the uni flat is emptied (if it isn't already due to Covid-19), the very first thing anyone in this situation needs to do is write a CV based on their experience and achievements in the workplace. They need to think of themselves as a brand and use dynamic language to describe their accomplishments so that recruiters can see they take their personal brand seriously and are ready to work.

Work experience is key.  Whilst educational establishments drive home the importance of study, in the world of recruitment, it is what a person has done, as well as proving they have the ability to learn, that will get them noticed.

And if studying and socialising have taken up most of the last 3 or 4 years it is time for them to get some experience in a voluntary role, to prove they have a work ethic and staying power.  

More advice about CV writing and the importance of using LinkedIn to promote your personal brand will be in the next blog. 
#cvwriting #graduatecareers #graduatejobsearch # howtowriteacv #cv #findingajob #cvhelp #cvtips