How to get a CV that screams ‘Qualified’

Looking through my email box, I realized that January/February and November are the months of the year that I usually receive the highest number of CVs and 2021 is already maintaining that pattern. I assume this reflects our desires to grab early opportunities in a new year.

Reality for us all is that despite the proliferation of entrepreneurship trainings and programmes, many people still need jobs to jumpstart their dream future and that’s totally fine. The challenge is the quality of CV you send to employers.

I believe that the quality of CV I forward to friends and associates reflect my own standards, and it won’t matter whether I know the candidate closely or not. So, most times, I’m either fixing the CVs myself or returning them to be fixed. Because it’s hard for me to recommend a poorly written CV, I rarely look away.

I say this a lot. There is no shame in getting help with some professional touch on your CV. Having errors in grammar, semantics, formats, alignments and so many more is a big NO for anyone who wants to be taken seriously by a hiring officer.

From my experience, fresh graduates and early career professionals are the most complacent with their CV. Since they have less professional experience to show off, they assume that there is indeed nothing else to write.

Getting hired goes beyond showing off your prestigious university, your impressive grade or saying you have excellent communication skills, good interpersonal skills or that you work well under pressure. There are certain qualities that we will believe you possess, only when we see what you have done before.

Having conducted several interviews myself, I know it’s better to deal with nerves and some awkward moments during an interview than not making it to an interview at all.

If as a graduate, you hardly get invited for interviews or you usually get O’level positions like sales attendant, office assistant…etc, don’t assume someone forgot about you. Chances are that you have a badly written CV in their email boxes.  

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Your CV is your first chance to make a good impression on a potential employer. A good CV will significantly boost your chance of getting an interview. But if the content, grammar and format are not appealing, serious people won’t shortlist you.

Your resume is a tool for marketing yourself, outlining your qualities for potential employers to quickly see how you can contribute to a company’s success. Most times, it takes a professional to help you identify these qualities and present them in the right words that will interest an employer.

Give yourself a chance to be invited for an interview first and the rest can be dealt with. It’s not enough to soak your CV and certificates in anointing oil or wrap them with a spiritual mantle.

If you’re fresh out of school, take another look at your CV and ask yourself this question; would I employ this person?

Perhaps, you are employed but seeking opportunities to change your career path, ask the question; would I take a chance on this person?

Since you wrote the CV, I’ll assume you can’t identify any problem. So, why not ask someone who’s not afraid to lose your friendship?

Despite having built some sort of reputation helping professionals from entry level to executives with their CVs and corporate profiles, I still get trusted professionals to review mine.

Don’t be too proud to do same. Don’t shortchange yourself. There is no shame in getting help.

• KENIakintoye is a seasoned marketing communications consultant and the founder of KT Communication, a digital media, PR and communications company based in Lagos. Follow him @KeniAkintoye on all social media platforms.