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In this blog post, we will be looking at why your CV sucks, why having a poor CV will slow your chances of getting the digital job you want, and how we can fix it together.

As digital marketing recruiters, we know exactly what to look for when accessing whether a CV will grab the attention of various marketing hiring managers. The fact of the matter is, that attention matters and hiring managers have little of it. So, what can we do to help you catch their attention, keep it, and then contact you for a chat or an interview?

Let’s run down a list that we have put together that points out the main areas we recommend you can improve to make an impact on the hiring manager.

You can listen to the podcast below…

The presentation of a CV is as fundamentally important as it gets. If all you have done is stuck your experiences and qualifications on a Word document, then right now, in this climate, you have little chance of securing a job.

If your CV lacks structure, headings, subheadings, and decent formatting, it’s going to be rejected before it’s even read. Hiring managers and recruiters want to see that you are serious about applying for their job. They want to see the effort, creativity, and you going the ‘extra mile’ to join their team. Businesses now receive hundreds of CVs for each position than they may have received 4/5 months ago. There are a lot of experienced, qualified, and talented people out of work right now competing with you for the same job. It’s tough.

Yet, you can still make an impact and still get the job you want. Why, because regardless of experience and talent, if their CV fails the presentation test, they won’t be inline for an interview, and you will be.

This next point might surprise you, but it is very important you get it right. We have seen well presented, quality CVs get rejected at this early stage. How?

Simple, by not naming your CV document correctly. Sounds harsh?

Well, when you save your CV on your laptop or desktop, and you name it ‘my cv’ or ‘cv 2020’ – it just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Hiring managers get absolutely loads of CVs named ‘my cv’, and they are a big problem because they just don’t have the time to keep renaming your CVs – these types of CVs end up getting placed at the bottom of the review pile.

Those CVs that have been named properly, for example – ‘billy _henshaw_digital_marketer_cv_2020’ – make it so much easier for hiring managers. It shows you care, it shows that you are attentive to detail and you are organised.

You must double-check your CV before you save it. We repeat…you must double-check your CV before you save it!

Make sure you have included all your relevant contact information on your CV.  Also, ensure that your CV contains ALL relevant work experiences. If you have gaps in your CV or work inconsistencies  – you must be able to explain why these have occurred. This is a critical determining factor as to whether your CV will be moved on to the next stage of the screening process.

Remember, missing information will impact your chances of moving on to the next stage.

If your CV looks like it was created in the minimal time possible, created with minimal effort, then rest assured, your CV will get minimal attention from the hiring manager. As a marketer, you don’t really have any excuses. You must put time into your CV, to make it look clean and polished.

With such a competitive job market you can not afford to have your CV look bland and poorly formatted. Harsh as it sounds, you’ve got to step up your CV writing and presentation game.

Your CV is the window in which employers view you and crucially, your work. Employers want to see your skills at work, the work you have created, and the potential you can bring. You need to bring these into play.

Don’t forget to add all relevant personal projects to your CV. Where possible, we also recommend adding short URLs on your CV that can be copied and pasted into a search engine by the hiring manager to really show-off your work.

Not adding a bio to your CV should be a criminal offense!

Of course, we jest, but maybe it’s not so much of a laughing matter. A CV without a bio is like a car without wheels. Your bio needs to work as the driving force to keep the hiring manager moving down your page.

A bio is your ‘about’ page, it usually sits under your name, in most cases, for marketers, it is conversational, depending on the type of job you are applying for. Your bio should briefly detail your most important, relevant, achievements, and successes – show a little personality if you can. Our blog post will list a few resources to help you craft your own bio.

Indeed: Guide to writing a bio, with examples.

Hubspot: Professional bio examples.

Grammarly: How to write a bio.

We hope you find this useful.

These pointers might be simple, there are no magic bullets here just simple points that ensure your CV is noticed and actually read. If you want more help with your CV, please leave a comment below or send us an email: hello@fullfocusrecruitment.co.uk.

Best of luck.