Have you ever had a friend play a bad song, only for them to plead, \u2018Wait, we\u2019re getting to the good bit!\u2019 Have you slogged through a boring novel or film because you were promised excitement? Yeah, don\u2019t write your CV like that. Recruiters want to be \u2018hooked\u2019 by your application from the start. You need to make sure \u2018the good bit\u2019 is the whole thing!<\/p>\n
One of the most common pitfalls we see in CV appointments is a lack of specificity. Employers may sift through hundreds of applications and spend, on average, just seven seconds looking at a CV. They\u2019re likely to have seen far too many personal profiles<\/a> that include the words \u2018hardworking\u2019. It\u2019s not enough to simply state these things. Writers are encouraged to \u2018show, don\u2019t tell\u2019 \u2013 and you should too! What have you done to prove you are hardworking? What was the outcome? Most importantly, how is this relevant to the role you have applied for?<\/p>\n If your application isn\u2019t tailored to the role, or if it is weighed down by unnecessary or irrelevant details, you are selling yourself short. Use the STAR method<\/a> (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to illustrate your achievements. Alternatively, the \u2018What? So what? And what?<\/a>\u2019 method covers similar bases. The recruiter wants you to prove you\u2019re suitable for the role, so be sure to read the job description or person specification and build your answers around these criteria. You can\u2019t rely on an employer knowing what you mean if you are vague. Every sentence needs to fit the bill.<\/p>\n Many jobs are degree neutral, meaning employers don\u2019t mind what you studied if you have good results and a well-rounded skillset. But make no mistake \u2013 you still need to be specific! A consultancy role might, for example, welcome applications from all degree disciplines. You still need to say how<\/em> your maths\/biology\/robotics degree makes you a good fit. You may have to think outside the box with this, because your degree doesn\u2019t speak for itself. Consider booking an appointment with us if you are unsure how to present your skills.<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t forget to apply this to your interviews, too! You may be asked similar questions to ascertain your strengths, and the same need for specificity will apply. It\u2019s okay to ask to hear the question again, or request a moment to gather your thoughts. By contrast, you should have plenty of time when writing an application to compose and refine your answers. These answers can make or break your chances of securing an interview at all. Make sure to use a spellchecker and consider printing and reading your application out loud. Is it professional? Is it relevant? Every word counts, so be sure to hook your target audience \u2013 that is, the recruiter \u2013 from the very beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever had a friend play a bad song, only for them to plead, \u2018Wait, we\u2019re getting to the good bit!\u2019 Have you slogged through a boring novel or film because you were promised excitement? Yeah, don\u2019t write your...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1443,"featured_media":2488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[4,16,384,22,41,120],"class_list":["post-2487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-advice","tag-applications","tag-cover-letter","tag-cv","tag-skills","tag-top-tips"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2022\/08\/lacie-slezak-yHG6llFLjS0-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}