Sponsored Post by Portfolio Payroll Ltd
In the current market jobs can be highly competitive, with many people applying for all available vacancies. With this in mind, anything that can be done to give yourself an edge when applying for a new job should be considered. While good interview skills and demonstrating how you suit the position are of course important, without a strong CV, it will be extremely difficult to even get to this stage.
A CV is the only chance you have to make a good first impression with a potential employer, so it is essential you portray yourself in the best possible manner. Ensuring that as many contact details as possible are provided is a basic but important element. The experience and education on the CV could be fantastic, but if the employer cannot contact you easily, it would be worthless.
What to include?
When putting together a CV, it is always tempting to include as much information as possible. However, it is important not to make your CV too long when including this information. Anything over two pages is generally considered to be excessive, with employers having a large amount of applications to deal with and only a limited amount of time to go through them. With this in mind, ensure that you include the following information as a priority:
- Contact details
- Education – including grades and qualifications
- Relevant experience in other similar positions
- Details of IT and office skills, if relevant
- Your skills, and how you learnt or developed these skills
Unless it is specified otherwise in the job advert, these are the key skills that most positions will be looking for. It is also often important to mention time management skills, as roles related to accountancy such as a payroll administrator require excellent time management and being able to work on multiple tasks at the same time.
If you are applying for a position that would require relocation, make sure you make it clear that you are willing to do this at whatever notice the company requires.
What not to include
As mentioned above, it is important not to overload your potential employer with information that is not relevant for the particular position. These include:
- Experience from jobs which do not relate to the vacancy you’re applying for in any way
- Excessive details on hobbies outside of work – mentioning a few is acceptable
- Exaggerated or untrue statements – they will be discovered
There is no such thing as a ‘miracle cure’ for a CV and nothing can guarantee results, but following these simple steps can give you a much greater chance of progressing to the interview stage of the process.
Post Sponsored by Portfolio Payroll Ltd. A leading payroll recruitment agency.
