7 Tips for Writing a CV That Gets You Noticed in 2023

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Looking for a new job in 2023? To catch the attention of recruiters and hiring managers, it’s crucial to create a CV that stands out from the crowd. In this article, we’ll explore the top 2023 CV writing tips to help you craft a winning CV that showcases your accomplishments and lands you the job you want.

Tip #1: Make It Forward-Looking

Before you start writing your CV, it’s essential to know the direction you want to take in your career. You must understand the industry, companies, and positions you’re targeting. Don’t make the mistake of creating a general CV that can fit any job. Employers want specialists, not generalists. To clarify your direction, ask yourself these five questions:

What role am I targeting?
What companies am I targeting?
What challenges are they facing?
What skills are critical to success?
How do I add value?

Focus on your career goals and aspirations. Consider what you want to achieve in your career and what skills you need to develop to get there. This will help you to highlight your potential for growth and your willingness to learn new things.

Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. Look at the job description and identify the key skills and qualities that the employer is looking for. Make sure that these are highlighted in your resume and that you provide examples of how you have demonstrated these skills in the past.

Don’t be afraid to include any relevant coursework or certifications that you have earned. This can demonstrate your commitment to ongoing learning and professional development.

In addition to showcasing your skills and potential, a forward-looking resume should also demonstrate your passion for the industry or field that you are applying for. This can be done by highlighting any relevant volunteer work, hobbies, or personal projects that demonstrate your interest in the field.

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Tip #2: Unleash Your Personal Brand

Your personal brand is a combination of who you are and the work you do. It’s your unique promise of value that sets you apart from other candidates. To uncover your personal brand, you need to identify your vision, values, purpose, and passion. Here’s how to get started:

Values: What are your personal values, and what values are you looking for in your target company?
Purpose: What interests you, and what brings you satisfaction and fulfillment in your work?
Passions: What motivates you, and what makes you feel alive or like you’re hardly working at all?

If you find this part challenging, ask people you know how they would describe you in five words. Look for themes in their responses, as well as in your LinkedIn recommendations and past performance reviews. These will help you identify what makes you different from others in your field.

Tip #3: Create Career Stories

To create career stories for your resume, you need to think about your career experiences and accomplishments and how they align with the job you’re applying for. Here are some steps to help you:

Identify the key skills and qualifications required for the job you’re interested in.
Review your past work experiences and think about how they demonstrate those key skills and qualifications.
Create a list of your top accomplishments in each job. These should be specific and measurable, and should demonstrate your abilities and contributions.
Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your career stories. This means you describe the situation or problem, the task or goal, the action you took, and the result or outcome.
Make sure your career stories are concise and relevant to the job you’re applying for. Focus on the most important details and highlight how your experiences and accomplishments make you the best fit for the role.
Use active language and strong action verbs to make your stories more impactful. Avoid passive voice and vague language.
Finally, practice telling your career stories out loud so you can deliver them confidently and effectively during interviews.

Tip #4: Optimise Your Keywords

To optimize keywords in a resume for automatic tracking systems (ATS), you should follow these tips:

Use relevant keywords: Look carefully at the job description and use the same terminology as the employer. This will help you show that you have the skills and qualifications they are looking for.
Use action verbs: Begin your bullet points with strong action verbs that describe your achievements and responsibilities. This will help the ATS pick up on your experience and skills.
Use variations of keywords: Use synonyms and variations of important keywords to avoid being repetitive. This will make your resume sound more natural while still including the necessary keywords.
Use context: Use phrases that provide context and demonstrate your skills and experience. This will help the ATS understand the relevance of your experience to the job you are applying for.
Use a clear structure: Use a clear and consistent structure throughout your resume, including headings, bullet points, and formatting. This will make it easier for the ATS to scan and understand your information.
Avoid images and graphics: ATS systems often can’t read images and graphics, so avoid using them in your resume.

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Tip #5: Focus On Impact

Don’t simply list your responsibilities in your previous jobs. Instead, focus on your achievements and the impact they had on the company. Use numbers and data to quantify your results, and focus on the most significant accomplishments.

Over the years, career advisors have advised job seekers to include their accomplishments on their CVs and to provide specific quantifiable data for those accomplishments. However, in the upcoming year, those who make hiring decisions will be interested in understanding the actual impact of each achievement listed on the CV.

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Tip #6: Keep It Concise

Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have much time to review each CV, so keep yours concise and easy to read. Use bullet points, and limit each section. Keeping your resume concise is important for several reasons:

Attention span of recruiters: Recruiters and hiring managers often have limited time to review resumes, so a concise and well-organized resume is more likely to catch their attention and keep them interested.
Highlight key information: A concise resume allows you to highlight the most important and relevant information, such as your skills, experience, and achievements. This makes it easier for the recruiter to quickly understand your qualifications and suitability for the job.
Clarity and readability: A concise resume is also more readable and easier to scan. This means that the recruiter can quickly identify your strengths and accomplishments without having to wade through irrelevant information.
Professionalism: A concise resume demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively and concisely, which is an important skill in many industries.

Tip #7: Use Action Verbs

Using action verbs in your CV bullets can make a big difference in how your accomplishments are perceived. Action verbs demonstrate that you were an active participant in achieving results, rather than simply being a passive observer.

Here are some examples of action verbs you can use in your CV:

Accomplished
Achieved
Coordinated
Developed
Executed
Implemented
Launched
Managed
Produced
Resolved

Make sure to use these action verbs in the past tense, as you’re describing accomplishments from previous roles.

Final Thoughts

Following these CV writing tips can help you stand out to hiring managers and recruiters. By getting clear on your direction, uncovering your personal brand, crafting a compelling summary section, using action verbs, quantifying your accomplishments, and editing and proofreading your CV, you’ll be well on your way to landing your dream job.