At Signet we know what we are looking for – but for a job seeker trying to be seen there are some easy steps to follow to make your CV stand out from the crowd. Recruiters often use job boards and searching tools, which may mean that if you don’t include a few very simple key words you may not appear in a recruiters search. Follow our tips to make sure your CV has enough key ‘searchable’ words to make an impact.
Easy to Read: Search tools will highlight the searched key words which match your CV- making it much easier to read and directs focus effectively to your key skills.
Obvious: Some terms in your job role may seem very obvious to you (it’s what you’ve been doing for years) but if your CV doesn’t say it won’t be highlighted in search.
Non Company Specific: Don’t use terms which are specific to your company. Make sure that the words used to describe your day to day tasks and skills can be recognised and understood.
Attributes: Most jobs require certain attributes so searches are often done using qualifications, programmes, languages and IT Skills as key words. Make sure you include everything you’ve got in your CV; whether it’s an AAT qualification, proficient Excel skills or fluent Russian.
Simple: Make sure that any terms you have included are still understandable in layman’s terms – if your CV is full of terms that are too specific they may not be highlighted in a search for a job you may potentially want. Make sure the terms in your CV are going to match with what you want to be searched on for future jobs.
Job Titles: Make sure that your actual job title is generic enough to be searched upon effectively. You may well be a ‘customer care operative’ however recruiters may only search for ‘customer service’, in order to maximise search tools make your title as transferable as possible.
Match: Job descriptions are usually very generic. So while you should aim to maintain a bit of spark and illustrate what makes you ‘you’, remember to match up your skills to the job description.
Score Hits: By including and repeating certain words it increases your hit score making you higher in a results screen. However obviously you don’t want to overdo it by repeating the same words too much! … internal sales internal sales internal sales internal sales internal sales internal sales internal sales
Synonyms: Making your CV different can be difficult, but don’t be tempted to over use the synonyms tool. People will be searching on ‘customer service advisor’ not ‘consumer dedication operative’.
Location & Salary: An easy way for recruiters to reduce the mass of CV’s is to focus on location and salary requirements – make sure this crucial information is included in your CV or cover letter.
LinkedIn: It’s not just on job boards where search tools are used. If you’re looking for work make sure that your LinkedIn title displays a very clear message – what you want to be seen for?
The easiest way to increase your CVs ‘search- ability’ is to make sure it is clear and specific! We wish you ‘Good Luck’ in your job hunt; please visit our Website jobs page for all our current vacancies.