I had a conversation this morning with a person who wasn’t getting any traction with their job applications.
6 months.
50 applications.
1 interview - unsuccessful.
One interview out of 50 applications.
That’s quite disheartening.
They asked me to rewrite their CV.
The Good News Sandwich:
The good news; Over-all their CV had some good content with a number of technical achievements for each role.
The not so good news; A key element was missing. An element that would gain attention and generate sufficient interest to get an interview. Not rejection after rejection.
More good news; I wasn’t going to rewrite their CV - without them. We would do this together!
Why I said no to rewriting their CV - Without them.
Whilst their CV was rich in the 'technical how', it was totally devoid of the transferable benefits and outcomes originating from the achievement. And based on our conversation, it was highly unlikely they would be able to talk to those - let alone correlate them to prospective employer benefit, during an interview. It’s simply not enough to just list an achievement. You must join the dots. And without guessing and potentially embellishing, as a coach I just can’t do that.
My job is to draw it out from the person in their own language the essence of the value they create and deliver.
Why YOU need to join the dots:
When developing the content for your CV keep in mind that whilst your so called achievement may have been amazing for you personally - and no doubt beneficial to the organisation you worked for, unfortunately for you, unless you join the dots and make the achievements relatable they may mean absolutely nothing to your target employer.
Writing your CV is a partnership and a journey of discovery:
Absolutely, get help. But don’t abdicate everything to someone who may be a great writer, but can’t possibly get the essence of the benefits you deliver on their own.
The exercise of writing a CV should not simply be a collation of retrospective roles. And your CV writer should work with you in partnership to coach and enable you to learn more about yourself, the value you add, and the transferable benefits you deliver - more than you've ever known before.
So writing a great CV goes beyond the CV. It's the foundation for a great interview.
And that’s why I don’t just write someone’s CV. We write it together!
Is it hard work? Yes.
Will you be challenged? Yes.
Will you gain? You bet!
#careercoaching #interviewcoaching #cvtips
