Your CV isn’t just about you!

With hundreds of CVs to go through, it's important that I can easily find the skills and experiences that give you the edge above other candidates.

Don’t make the hirer work hard to find out you’re the fit for what they’re looking for because recruiters don't spend a lot of time looking at your CV.

Let's focus on “thin-slicing", a method that will help you stand out.

When "I'm thin-slicing", I'm scanning the document looking for keywords and phrases so that I know you have the right skills and experiences for the role.

Make sure your skills are prominent and highlighted visually in your CV.

Group them together in one place on your CV, or after each role. I often bold my specific skills and experiences.

This allows me to “thin-slice” and easily see if you are appropriate for the role.

If you do this successfully, you pass my initial filter.

Action points

• Look at your own CV and see if you have the keywords visually highlighted.
• If they aren't visually highlighted, think about how you would like them to stand out (bold, underline or group them in a separate section).
• If you can't see any keywords, review the job role and look for keywords and incorporate them into your own CV if you have demonstrated those skills and experiences in the past.

Examples