A recent survey provides some valuable insights for ensuring a high impact CV. The research findings show there is a clear difference between what
jobseekers think makes a great CV, and what those in a position of hiring them
are actually looking for.
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200 employers with sole or part responsibility for hiring new jobseekers
were interviewed. The researchers first asked employers what they thought were the most
important things they look for when reviewing a possible candidate's CV. The top
three responses showed that employers rated work experience, work based
achievements and the list of the jobseekers' previous jobs and positions as the
most important parts of the CV. Work based achievements were defined as specific
accomplishments that could be attributed to the candidate, rather than generic
responsibilities. The research then went on to ask the employers about previous roles and
achievements in more detail. Specifically, the researchers wanted to know
whether employers had rejected jobseekers as a result of this information being
omitted. The results were conclusive, showing that a staggering 73% of employers
had rejected a candidate based on the lack of roles and achievements on their
CV. The reasons why jobseekers make the error and fail to include sufficient
detail are explored separately in the jobseeker survey. The employers were also asked to quantify the impact of including work-based
achievements in terms of the salary they would offer jobseekers. They were given
four choices of varying pay increase percentages to choose from. Over half said
that they would offer a salary 5% higher or more to jobseekers that showed
significant work-based achievements on their CV, and just over quarter said they
would offer a salary of 15% or higher. With the average UK salary being £22,000,
this enabled a monetary value to be placed on the ability to include specific
work-based achievements.The Employers perspective
The Applicants perspective...........
1,000 British workers were asked a variety of questions. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB working adults aged 18+.
The researchers first asked jobseekers to think about the last time they wrote their CV, and ascertain how long it took them to develop. Given the importance of the CV in the jobseeking process, it is perhaps surprising that the results showed that most people spent less than two hours developing their CV (71%). Only 19% spent one day or more.
The researchers then went on to ask about the circumstances in which they tend to develop their CV. The respondents were given six options. 79% of respondents said they only think about writing their CV when they are actively looking for a new job. Only 6% of those questioned kept their CV updated on a monthly basis.
As with employers, jobseekers were asked which parts of their CV they saw as most important. The results showed that 36% of jobseekers felt that the general look and feel of their CV was the most important part - something that didn't rank in employers' top three at all. This was followed by work experience (22% - compared to 37% as the employers' first choice) and work-based achievements (19% - compared to 23% as the employers' second choice).
Jobseekers were then asked to think about the last time they wrote their CV and consider how easy or hard they found it to remember their achievements. Only 6% of jobseekers questioned found it very easy to recall achievements and 39% had to look back through work records to recall specific achievements.
The research findings show there is a clear difference between what jobseekers think makes a great CV, and what those in a position of hiring them are actually looking for.
Whereas jobseekers rank the 'look and feel' of their CV as the number one priority, this factor does not rank in the top three list for employers who are looking for much more practical and achievement based information.
This revelation is worrying when one considers how employers - and particularly large recruiters and agencies - use people's CVs once they receive them. Although jobseekers may put a lot of effort into crafting a beautiful looking CV, the design and fancy bits get ignored because recruiters quickly turn candidate information into a stream of data that their IT systems can read.
The research also highlighted how much employers value work-based achievements - it was their second most important success factor on a CV. And the inclusion of this data can clearly have a major impact on the value employers place on candidates - almost a quarter said that candidates could expect salaries more than 15% higher if they included such information. That's an extra £3,300 on the average annual UK salary of £22,000 - not a small sum.
Yet, almost three quarters of employers had rejected candidates for failing to include this information, suggesting that jobseekers exhibit 'achievement amnesia' when writing CVs.
Is this achievement amnesia a symptom of a quintessentially British unwillingness to 'sell' or 'talk up' our achievements? Possibly, but the research seemed to suggest that it has more to do with the way that we all compile CVs - often relegating CV writing only to times when we start looking for work, and spending less than two hours on the task. And clearly, we're struggling to remember the great things we've done when it really matters.
All of this brings into question whether the traditional CV as we know it is still the best way to go about presenting ourselves for jobs. Should we now be considering new ways to evolve the CV, bringing it up to date in the way that so many other things have been in the digital age?
Certainly, the current obsession with the look and feel of a CV should be dropped, or at least de-emphasised. And, if we are to attain the jobs we want and the salaries we deserve, we need to change the way we think about recording our achievements as well - making it an ongoing process