February 4, 2014
I personally think, in this era, you should be able to apply for a job virtually, send your LinkedIn profile, and have a video as a CV. As long as it has the following elements, then why does it need to be a plain old Word doc? Unfortunately I am in the minority that have this view, and sending your CV in a Word doc or PDF is a must for employers.
Struggling to articulate yourself on paper? Feel that you are great but your CV is clearly not getting you any interviews? Can’t understand why? Here are all the elements you need to include when creating your CV, whichever format you choose.
Even the most confident person tends to struggle with selling themselves on paper.
1. You MUST have contact details (you wouldn’t believe how hard job seekers make it to find them)! Once you have the basics (name, telephone number, email address), add your LinkedIn profile and any other social sites you use – if relevant to the job. Your profiles will be kept tidy as you are a job seeker and you know that is of HUGE importance.
‘Joe Bloggs, 07797867433, joe.bloggs@me.com, LI: www.linkedin.com/joebloggs‘
2. Now everyone should have a personal profile; make it three lines at least, no more than five lines – remember it’s not an essay. The key points you need in a personal profile include who you are professionally, what you do (summary) and what you are looking for. You can also add a brag about yourself too.
‘I am a Senior Account Manager, working across online, video and mobile at a leading advertising agency. My clients include large corporate brands and a few smaller accounts. I am looking for a role that will be a step up to Account Director, working with larger budgets and taking more responsibility for a team.’
3. Now that the hardest part is done all you have to do is write where you have worked, when you worked there, what your job title was and what you did there. You can add a one liner of what the company does, if it is not obvious to the roles you are applying for. This is called ‘Professional History’ or ‘Career’, NOT ‘Work Experience’ – that is something you did when you were 15! Make sure you include links to projects you have done, especially if they feature on yours/the brand’s social sites.
‘Professional History
Wonderful Place to Work, Senior Account Manager June 2010 – Present
I work on these brands and manage a team of three people, I am responsible for a budget of £XX. I also work on international accounts.
Duties Include
- Line Management of a team
- Managing £XXbn across an international portfolio
- Promoted from Account Executive to Account Manager in 3 months
- Involved in pitches for new business
Achievements
My biggest achievement to date is being part of an award winning campaign, we won the ‘Best digital campaign 2012’, I worked on the brand XXX for six months previous to the award and my input was noted in the award entry. Here is a link to the social profiles of the brand XXX.’
4. You must include your education, although you do not need to list every GCSE grade you achieved. Rather, your highest level of education and the merit received. Also relevant training you have completed.
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!
Every job seeker should have a LinkedIn profile at the very least. But really you should be easily found, especially in digital marketing, you are a marketer and should be able to market yourself, at least with the basics.
Now you know the basics, check out our careers page and if you have the right experience, get in touch anyway you want!
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