7 tips to get your CV ready for the 2023 job market!

A new year brings with it excitement for new challenges, tasks and adventures and for some that may mean wanting to sink your teeth into a new role. For most of us, that would lead to a feeling of dread about dragging out the old CV or worse yet, having to start from scratch. Here are a few tips to help make that task a little bit more manageable.

While CVs give us the perfect opportunity to boast about our achievements, this is not the time to go into fictional writing. Stick to the facts and make sure you focus not only on what you did, but what you have achieved. Reflect on the outcomes of your action, did you smash those sales targets, improve the customer experience or make a real impact in the culture of the organisation? Awesome! Let’s focus on those, remember to keep bullet points short, sweet and to the point.

In the spirit of keeping things short, sweet and to the point, limit your CV to 2 – 3 pages depending on your experience. Elaborate on experience in the last 5-10 years with the most recent roles making up the bulk of the document. Include a summary of past experiences but don’t waste valuable real estate on something you achieved 10+ years ago, the landscape has changed and so have you.

Numbers stand out in a word document, and you want to keep your achievements as quantifiable as possible. Think about specific figures – did you increase revenue by 20%, boost online engagement by 75% or exceed monthly targets by $50 000 each month?  Amazing, now include those figures and grab that recruiter’s attention by showing exactly how big an impact you can have in your next role.

Businesses hire people not CVs, so make sure your CV is an authentic representation of who you are and what you have achieved. Incorporate your values and beliefs into the document, whether that reflects the importance you place on workplace cultures, empowering team members or company loyalty. If it is important to you, find a way to weave it into your CV.

Most advertised jobs ask for a cover letter and the mistake most people make is simply summarising their CV. A cover letter should be an introduction into who you are and what you can offer this particular organisation, focus on the personal approach here by explaining what drives you to succeed and how this will benefit the business and then move into highlighting how you meet their criteria and more. Limit this to ½ to 1 page and remember to include 1 or 2 examples of key achievements within the body of this letter.

Everyone knows the average screening time each CV goes through with a recruiter and with more competition in the market, it is more important than ever to have a CV that stands out. 

Get creative with your CV by including a dash of colour and ensure the design is easy on the eye. Think of ways to best utilise the valuable real estate of your CV while ensuring key information is easily accessible – think personal skills and key areas of expertise.