Your CV is not your autobiography. It is not even a detailed career history. It is your personal sales brochure, created to persuade the employer that you have what their organisation needs and that they should take the time to meet you and find out more. For this reason, your CV should concentrate on your key selling points —the reasons why the employer would want to take you on.

Invest time in working out:

• what the employer is looking for
• what you have to offer
• how to present this information for maximum impact.

FINDING OUT WHAT THE EMPLOYER NEEDS

The recruiter will be looking for an individual who has:

• the right technical skills/experience
• a high level of interpersonal skills
• the ability to flourish within the company culture
• at the most senior levels – the ability to shape the company culture.

Every employer will be looking for people with excellent technical skills and experience. For managerial and professional employees in particular, they also look for someone with the right personality and working style for the company.

Looking at what the organisation values

Each individual industry and company values different traits in their employees. A civil service organisation will need people who can work within fixed structures and procedures. A new high-tech company will be looking for people who can cope with fast, unpredictable change. A small and stable company with few promotion opportunities may well look for someone who is content to stay within the same role for a number of years. A rapidly expanding firm will need someone who can grow and change with them... and so on.

At a senior level, a company may look for someone who does not fit comfortably into the existing culture of the organisation. They may deliberately seek out someone with a different way of working, who will bring in fresh ideas and shake the place up. Bear this in mind when you are applying to a company that you know is aiming to:

• expand
• improve their products and services
• improve their customer service, financial management, etc.
• reduce bureaucracy
• increase flexibility and speed of response
• change the organisational culture.

Researching employers

To get a clear picture of what the recruiter will be looking for, start by researching the organisation or industry’s:

• goals
• challenges
• opportunities
• culture
• competitors.

Consider the environment that the organisation is working within. Are they facing challenges and opportunities with, for example, new technology, changing tax regulations or forthcoming legislation?

Advertisements provide direct information on what an individual employer wants and often more subtle clues as well. A company describing itself as ‘well established, with prestigious clients’ is likely to be very different from one that has placed an advertisement asking for people to work in ‘exciting new opportunities’.

What does the organisation need?

Your research will enable you to identify what the organisation is trying to achieve and what kind of people they need to get them there. They may need, for example, people who can:

• maintain and build on existing relationships with clients
• pursue a policy of aggressive competition with competitors
• change the culture of the organisation
• introduce procedures and processes to ensure that the organisation runs smoothly.

What does the team need?

If you are very interested in working for a particular organisation, see if your contacts can tell you about the team that you would be working with. Successful teams need a mixture of individuals and they may have a particular need for someone who can, for example:

• generate new ideas
• ensure that plans are followed through to completion
• check that details are correct
• take a leadership role.

ASSETS EVERY EMPLOYER NEEDS

Some qualities will be an asset to someone looking for almost any senior post.

Strategic thinking

At a senior level, you will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the broader issues, opportunities and challenges facing the organisation and its wider environment. Employers are looking for people who can visualise ways in which the company can move forward taking all these factors into account. Business acumen and/or professional judgement are vital.

Change orientation

Even the most traditional organisations are having to adapt at an ever-increasing speed. You will need to demonstrate that you thrive on change and constantly look for ways in which to improve the way your organisation works. This will usually involve an ability to:

• challenge assumptions
• take calculated risks
• demonstrate resilience and tenacity.

Creativity

Linked to the need to change is the need to come up with new and better solutions, products and ways of working.

Quality orientation

At a senior level, you need to be able to demonstrate not just your personal ability to deliver high-quality work, but your ability to shape the organisation to deliver excellent results.

Leadership ability

Employers need people who not only manage staff, but motivate and inspire them to achieve the organisation’s goals.

Interpersonal skills

An ability to get on with people is going to be an advantage at any level. Senior people need to demonstrate personal impact and an ability to develop and manage relationships effectively. You will need to show that you can influence and motivate others and work successfully in high-profile or difficult situations. For example, you may need to show that you can resolve conflict, negotiate, manage teams split over a number of different locations, or make presentations to customers at board level.

Communication skills

Employers need people who are confident and effective communicators in both speech and writing. Senior people need to be able to use communication to persuade and influence others.

Personal management skills

In today’s de-layered organisations, employers are looking for people who can manage themselves. You will need to show self-motivation, self-reliance and an ability to develop your own career.

Integrity

This goes without saying. Make sure your CV is honest!

Case study – Brian investigates Zipco

Brian is interested in a vacancy for a training manager that he has seen in a human resources magazine (see Figure 1).

Brian analyses the advertisement

From the advertisement, Brian can see that Zipco are looking for someone with technical skills and experience in the following areas:

• delivery of management and technical development initiatives
• design and delivery of internal training initiatives
• management of external training providers
• development of people at all levels of the organisation
• operating within the high-tech manufacturing sector
• working on their own initiative and motivating themselves.

They would like this person to be a graduate and a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, but it appears that the recruiter doesn’t see these points as essential.

Brian also concludes that as the training manager will be working as part of a small human resources team, it will be important that the person Zipco takes on does not have a narrow focus on development, but understands the role of HR as a whole.

Brian sums up Zipco’s values

The language used in the advertisement gives a clear picture of Zipco’s values:

• exciting
• new
• innovation
• product excellence
• growth
• fast-moving
• competitive.

Brian researches further

Brian speaks to the consultant who is handling recruitment to this role, reads through company website and talks to contacts in the Association of Engineering Employers who deal with Zipco. He finds out that the company is owned by a multinational with American origins. They are pursuing an aggressive policy of expanding their business by designing products that are one step ahead of what their competitors produce. The company is new, change is constant, and staff who cannot deliver results are quickly discarded.

Brian soon learns that the rapid pace of change within Zipco has caused some problems. The provision of training and development has been haphazard, which has sometimes led to an unacceptable level of defects in their finished products. The company recognises this and realises that improvements need to be made, which is why the post of training manager was recently created.

Brian measures himself against the advertisement

Brian has not been working in the same competitive and fast-moving environment as Zipco – his current employer, British Engineering, is a more traditional manufacturing company. However, he has the right skills and experience to enable him to make an immediate contribution, and he can also offer something that Zipco tends to lack – the ability to put systems and procedures in place.

IDENTIFYING YOUR KEY SELLING POINTS

Once you have identified what the organisation or industry that you are applying to wants from their employees, you can work out your key selling points – the main reasons why they will want to employ you. These may include your:

• relevant experience
• relevant qualifications
• track record of previous successes
• personal attributes
• motivation.

These are the main areas that you will want to advertise to the recruiter, and the basis of your CV.

Proving you have what it takes

Look at how you can prove to the recruiter that you have these qualities. You can’t just say that you are experienced, tenacious, or have business acumen – you must prove it through your achievements. For example, if you have excellent negotiating skills, you must give details of the negotiations that you have successfully concluded and the resulting benefits for your company. Wherever possible, the proof must be work related. Only new graduates and junior staff can use their hobbies and interests as the main evidence for their abilities.

Case study – Steve identifies his key selling points

Steve has done a wide variety of IT contract work. Most of this has been systems analysis, but during the last few years he has managed a number of IT projects and he now wants to specialise in this area. He knows that recruiting companies want people with:

• good technical skills and experience of successfully completing projects
• the commitment to finish jobs to a high standard, within budget and to the set deadline
• an ability to reach a full understanding of the needs of a company and to put in place systems that fill these needs
• good interpersonal skills, so that the consultant can work effectively with the staff in the client company.

Steve therefore identifies his key selling points as follows:

• Relevant qualifications and experience – with a variety of blue-chip companies and a range of IT systems and packages.
• Track record of previous successes – in managing several large projects from start to finish and to his clients’ standards and deadlines.
• Motivation and ability – to solve complex business problems and put into place systems that meet his clients’ needs.
• Personal attributes – good interpersonal skills. Steve is good at dealing with others in client companies. He is an excellent trainer and before he finishes a project, he makes sure that everyone is happy with using the new system.

Steve can provide evidence of his key selling points as follows:

• Relevant experience – he can list the blue-chip companies he has worked for and all the systems and packages that he is an expert on. For example: Implementing an Ameritech-based payroll system for 5,00 staff at Super corp UK.
• Qualifications – Steve has an engineering degree and is a chartered engineer.
• Track record of previous successes – he can give details of the major projects that he has managed, and the fact that he completed the projects within the clients’ deadlines, to their quality standards and within budget. For example: Redeveloping a customer information database to a tight deadline for the Clothesco mail order company. Migrating the records of 20,00 customers from an ITCO to a Megatech platform; improving data quality control methods (e.g. error reporting and change control) to improve accuracy of records and reduce customer complaints.
• Motivation to solve complex business problems – when describing the projects that he has managed, Steve can tell the recruiter about the issues that the company was facing and how the solution that he devised helped. For example: Designing and implementing a secure company intranet system to improve the speed of data access, reduce paperwork and ensure that data is up to date.
• Good interpersonal skills – Steve has trained the users of his systems and ensured a smooth handover to the client company.

Exercise

List the five main reasons why an employer would want to recruit you. For each of these selling points, write down how you can prove these qualities.

What other strengths should you make the recruiter aware of? What evidence of these strengths can you offer the recruiter?

DEALING WITH WEAKNESSES

Once you have identified your strengths, have a think about which points a recruiter reading your CV might see as weaknesses. These could be:

• gaps in skills, knowledge or experience
• lack of qualifications
• a career path with breaks or long periods of irrelevant experience
• many employers
• only having worked for one employer.

Is the gap too wide?

If looking at your weaknesses reveals a serious mismatch between the needs of the employer and what you can offer, your application will probably be wasted. Reconsider your options. Are you more likely to be successful with applications to other companies or for a different type of work? Or is there action that you could take to bridge the gap, perhaps by taking further qualifications or gaining more experience?

It is more likely that your weaknesses are no greater than those that most job hunters have. Recruiters never see candidates who are perfect in every detail! Often perceived weaknesses simply reflect the fact that your background or career path is not typical for your industry or profession. It is important, however, that you recognise where a recruiter might see a problem, and that you decide how to deal with this in your CV.

Your options are:

• Turn what might be perceived as a weakness to your advantage by showing the recruiter the benefits of your particular set of experiences.
• Find strengths that offset your weaknesses.
• Write your CV in such a way that the weaker points are not emphasised.

The examples in the following questions and answers show how this can be done.

Question and answer session

‘It’s clear from the advertisement that they are looking for a graduate. I know that I could do the job, but I don’t have a degree. How do I handle this?’

There are relatively few jobs for which a degree is really essential. Usually a recruiter is simply looking for someone with a certain level of intelligence and analytical thinking. Offset the lack of a degree by emphasising your abilities, experience and business acumen. Move the Education and Training section of your CV to the end of the document, so the recruiter only reads this after they have seen what you have to offer.

‘I want to work in an area of the finance industry that is very traditional – even staid. I’m worried that employers are going to think that the banks I have worked for previously are downmarket. Aren’t they going to conclude that I couldn’t possibly fit in?’

If you are of a different background from most of an organisation’s employees, you can bring in new ideas and a fresh perspective. Your CV should show the benefits that your experience could bring to your chosen employer. For example, with your background you might be in an ideal position to spot where bureaucracy should be reduced or how the customer base could be widened. Show that you can easily adapt to different situations – perhaps you have worked abroad, or in a number of very different roles.

‘This job is a big step up from where I am at the moment. How am I going to get them to take my application seriously?’

Emphasise that this post would be an exciting challenge for you. Most employers are looking for someone who wants to learn and develop rather than someone who could do the job blindfold (and who might therefore get bored). Show through your past achievements that you have the ability to do this job, and that you have successfully taken on difficult challenges in the past.

‘I’ve worked for a large number of employers. Aren’t they going to think that I can’t stick with any job for long?’

If you’ve worked in a large number of roles you have a broad range of experience, and are probably adaptable and full of new ideas. Sell these benefits! Your CV should, however, show a logical career pattern rather than a series of apparently random job moves. For example, you may have taken on the same kind of work for a wide variety of different employers, worked in a number of different roles to build up a range of experience within one particular industry, or changed to a career which better fitted your aptitudes.

Exercise

List three points that a recruiter reading your CV might see as weaknesses, and decide how you will deal with these points in your CV.

CHECKLIST

• Have you sufficiently researched the employer or industry that you are applying to?
• Can you define the challenges and opportunities that they are facing?
• Do you have a feel for the company or industry culture?
• Can you list the benefits that you can bring to the organisation?
• Are you aware of anything that a recruiter might see as a problem?
• Have you decided how you will deal with this?

POINTS TO CONSIDER

• 1.If you were a recruiter, what would you want candidates to offer?
• 2.If you were a recruiter, what would make you think that a candidate was unsuitable?
• 3.Has the exercise of defining your strengths and weaknesses given you ideas on how you could enhance your employability?