Selling Yourself on a CV

Everyone knows that they need to sell themselves on a CV, at the same time literally many thousands of jobseekers fail miserably at this most important job application hurdle. You may have the most presentable CV in the world, with the neatest fonts printed out on the most luxurious and expensive paper, but whilst this may be enticing to read, if the strength of your message isn't up to scratch then your CV will just end up in the recycling bin. Possibly the biggest mistake Well believe it or not some jobseekers deliberately tone down their sales message because they are afraid of sounding overconfident or big headed. Whilst a sense of modesty is a good trait to possess in everyday life, when it comes to selling yourself on a CV you really need to be careful, because employers won't know that you are being modest. On the contrary, most will just (incorrectly) assume that you only possess the level of skills,abilities and experience that you present on your CV. They are unlikely to try to read between thernlines and second-guess you are in fact a much higher calibre candidate in reality. The lesson here is if you have things to shout about then do so! Where do other people go wrong? Having things to shout about is one thing, and presenting them powerfully on paper is another. Some people try to overcomplicate things by cramming as much information into their CV as possible. Again, this usually isn't very effective. Your CV needs to be concise, pertinent and highlyrnlegible. Anything else and the risk is that it won't even get read. Yes, you need to market your skills to the employer, but you need to make sure that you do so in a clear and precise manner, rather than cluttered and ad-hoc one. Sales and marketing companies don't market their products with long and cluttered sales messages - and neither should you if you want your applications to succeed. Top Tip Another good tip is to try to back up your entries with quantifiable achievements where possible. If you write on your CV that you are a good salesman, then this is all well and good. However, if you can elaborate with more facts and figures then this can add weight to your application. You should remember that competition for jobs is extremely competitive and most people applying for e.g. salesrnjobs will claim to be good at sales on their CV. So you really need to go beyond that and give the employer something more to get his/her teeth into. Proof is in the pudding and all that. Besides, if you can't sell yourself effectively on your CV, the employer is unlikely to think you can sell his/her products either. Additional help Of course, it's all easier said than done, and not everyone can sell themselves powerfully on paper. If this applies to you then additional help is available, and the best CV consultants can usually dramatically improve not only your sales message, but your overall job prospects to boot. There is a cost involved, naturally, but if you choose the right CV consultant it can be the best investment you will ever make.