A CV is your personal sales pitch to secure a job

By VIKKI BLAND

While the job-hunting cliche "it's not what you know but who you know" still rings true, for most professional positions a CV and cover letter still reign supreme.

"If the interview gets the job, then the CV gets the interview," says Julie Crawley, director of Workplace Connections, an Auckland firm providing employment placement, career direction and CV advice.

However, Crawley says New Zealanders are not good at selling themselves through CVs.

"They need to see a CV as a selling space with them as the product," she says.

So what makes a good CV? Do employers even read them? And what format do they prefer: hard copy or electronic; black and white or colour; with or without photographs?

Joanne Bruem, general manager for recruiters Manpower New Zealand, says CV reading is influenced by CV presentation.

"CVs were once reflective of personality and candidates were encouraged to use pretty paper and colour. These days, a clear, clean resume with a readable type font is what employers are after. Including photographs is somewhat dated," she says.

However, Crawley says while photographs can invite unconscious discrimination, pretty paper and colour still have their place.

"I have seen a brightly decorated CV used successfully to apply for a pre-school teaching position. If you're careful, you can tailor the presentation of a CV to the industry."

So, no mass mailouts of the same CV to agencies and employers then?

Such blanket techniques are of limited use, says Crawley. "The person reading the CV is wondering why you think you are right for them.

"Use a punchy personal statement that encourages them to read further and follow it up with content that analyses your skills relevant to the role," she says.

Bruem says employers are interested in what an individual has achieved in past workplaces and in additional contributions they have made.

"If you are a sales person, don't feel shy about including information on the number of new accounts you secured or how you exceeded your KPIs [key performance indicators]," she says.

Both women say overly long CVs are a turn-off. "Gone are the days of lengthy and verbose CVs - today's employers just don't have time for that," says Crawley.

She says the key words in an emailed CV are what ensure it is recovered quickly when a position becomes available.

Bruem explains: "Companies and recruiters have resume databases which they will search using a few key words, so those words are important."

But while key words are in, jargon is out. "It's not helpful to confuse an employer," says Crawley. "Qualifications should not be abbreviated and applicants should not assume employers know the meaning of every acronym or industry buzz word."

While some people do a "John Davies" and fabricate or exaggerate their skills or experience for a CV, Crawley says savvy interviewers create drill-down questions around specific CV statements or claimed qualifications.

"Applicants should be able to look their interviewer in the eye and validate everything in their CV," she says.

Given this, how personal should a CV be? Is it necessary to record health, gender and marital status? What about residency status?

Crawley says while New Zealand applicants are inclined to go overboard when divulging personal information and can safely leave out their health and marital status, they should be clear about residency and gender to avoid embarrassing employers.

"If you are a man called Leslie or a woman [called Michael], sign your name as Mr, Mrs or Ms," she says.

Finally, be careful when listing personal interests. These tell an employer something about you, but can also end your chances of an interview. If this sounds extreme, consider the undertaker who lists taxidermy as a hobby.