Tailoring your CV to the role, the company and the industry is a must if you want to get ahead of the competition.
But before you send out your CV you should consider the essential skills an employer wants to see from an applicant.
Here are the 5 skills your CV must demonstrate to an employer if you want to increase your chances of getting an interview:-
1. Commercial awareness
Having a list of qualifications and skills a mile long on your CV doesn’t mean to say you are up to date with the latest trends. Having a good grasp on the current state of affairs within your chosen industry will inject that all important commercial awareness to your CV that an employer looks out for.
The hiring manager will be able to easily confirm upon reading a CV who knows their stuff. From the choice of words to the highlighted experience and achievements – this candidate clearly understands the business and could be a great asset to our firm.
“Keep your finger on the pulse and do your research before you apply,” suggests Martin Carline of CV Template Master. Not only will this help you to shape a better CV, it will also help you to answer industry questions in the interview.
2. Team working
“Teams don’t work well without teamwork! Teamwork is important for the success of all businesses!”, YTI explain.
Most roles require some kind of interaction between co-workers from time to time at the very least. Whilst other roles are completely dependant on an employee having exceptional team working skills. Whichever best describes your chosen career you will still be required to write a CV that demonstrates your ability to function well as part of a team.
Use examples from your work history to highlight achievements from team efforts. Avoid painting a picture of being the hero in these scenarios as the employer is mainly interested in your team working skills. Leadership is another matter entirely, and you don’t want to come across as arrogant.
3. Communication
“Good communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships at all levels of an organisation,” explains Michael Page recruitment.
There are only a handful of roles which require little communication between co-workers or customers. So it’s very likely that you will need to demonstrate your communication skills when applying for a job in some capacity.
Customer service roles require a high level of communication from its employees, as well as sales roles and leadership to name but a few. You can again look to your past achievements to demonstrate to an employer that you have the communication skills they require.
Avoid using any cliché statements like, ‘I have great communication skills’. Instead, provide examples and achievements which prove that you must have great communication skills otherwise the end result wouldn’t have occurred.
4. Organisation and problem solving
Every role requires an organised mind and the ability to solve daily issues that may arise. The more organised an employee is, the more likely they are to achieve greater results.
Having to micro manage an employee can be a great burden on a manager, and they would prefer to be able to trust their workforce to organise and manage their own tasks and responsibilities. Demonstrate your organisational skills on your CV so you can instil a good level of trust between you and the employer.
Your problem solving skills will also be an asset to the company, so you can again showcase a few examples within your CV to prove that you are capable of thinking on your feet without much assistance.
5. Hard skills
A hard or specific skill is something which would be necessary in order to be able to function in a role. This will be stated on the job advert, and examples would include:
- Machine operation
- Computer programming
- Speaking a foreign language
Assuming you have the mandatory skills the employer is requesting, you need to ensure you highlight this on your CV. A skill or qualification which has been specifically requested should be easy to find on your application, and not hiding in lines of text.
A great way to highlight these hard skills is to create a ‘Core skills’ section on the first page of your CV. This will save the hiring manager a lot of time and allow them to quickly short list you for an interview.
