Searching for a job can be a daunting process, but one thing that can make it easier is keeping your CV updated so that you can effectively showcase your experience and skills to any employer. If your CV hasn’t been changed for a while or if you’re looking to upgrade it, here’s some essential information on how to improve and update your CV.
Keep contact information up to date
Ensure that your phone number, email address, physical address, and other points of contact (such as social media) are kept up to date. Remember to add a professional website if you have one as well.
Revise and update your work experience
The work experience section of a CV is really important to keep up-to-date, but there’s only so much that you can fit on a single page. Try to keep this relevant to the current job that you’re applying for, and try to remove anything that’s too old or not related to the industry that you plan to work in. Make sure the job titles, companies that you worked for, and dates of employment are all accurate and kept up-to-date as well.
In some cases, you may want to change or update the responsibilities and achievements under each heading of your work experience to reflect the role that you’re applying for. Customizing your CV like this can lead to better outcomes, but will require you to pay a little more attention.
Updating your skills section
It’s also updating the skills section of your CV as well, especially if you’ve recently obtained a degree, completed any certifications, or gained new experience. Remember to keep these relevant to the job or field that you’re applying to, and remove any outdated or less relevant skills to keep this section concise.
You should also update the education section if you’ve been taking on new courses or certifications. Make sure that the dates are accurate so that the recruiter can see if they’re recent and if you’re still working on your skills as you look for a job.
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Remember to do a full grammar and spelling check
It’s really important that you do a complete grammar and spelling check at the end of your CV writing because if you don’t, then there’s a good chance that your CV will be flagged by the company’s applicant tracking systems and ignored.
Some companies receive hundreds or even thousands of applicants at times, so they use these filtering systems to weed out any weak CVs. This often means CVs that have a poor command of the English language, spelling mistakes, and grammar errors.
If you’re concerned about the quality of your CV, it’s worth getting in touch with CV experts to help you update and improve your current CV. It’ll save you a lot of time and stress, and they’ll have plenty of suggestions to help you look like a more attractive recruit.
Summary
The job search process is a daunting one with a lot of challenges. But if you follow these simple tips and work on improving your CV, you’ll find it much easier to pass those initial recruitment stages, and it’ll be easier to hand out your CV to lots of different employers.
