 We’re often asked “how do you guarantee that my CV will pass through applicant tracking systems”?
The truth is writers can do this for a particular advertised position, but not every position you wish to apply for. Unfortunately, less reputable CV writers and companies have created a misconception within the recruitment industry that there is a magic formula for your CV to pass through any Applicant Tracking System, and they often charge you extra for this ‘additional service’. After all, more and more employers are using these tracking systems to cut down on their time reviewing candidates that aren’t suitable and ensure they shortlist ones that are. So, why wouldn’t you pay extra to ensure your CV gets past these ‘complex algorithms’? This isn't the case, it's a tactic used to up-sell and maximise the revenue from each client without providing any extra service at all. The ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is set up by the individual hiring manager for that position within that particular company when they are writing the job description. On the back end of the ATS software the hiring manager will enter keywords for the position and these are referenced against your CV. So, what’s the issue? Well every hiring manager is different, they use different grammar, different spelling and different terminology. Let’s look at the below example. John is a hiring manager from HSBC Phil is a hiring manager from Lloyds They are both recruiting for team manager position, requiring 5 years previous team management experience and a MBA. Johns position headline Seeking an MBA graduate with 5+ years of team management experience to lead and develop a small team of banking advisors. Phils position headline Looking to recruit an experienced team manager to mentor and oversee a banking advisory team. Must have a graduated with a Master of Business Administration and have a minimum of 5 years’ experience. As you can see, both hiring managers are recruiting the same position, both are seeking the same candidate but using different keywords (even though they mean the same thing). The point here is that the CV writer can very easily identify these keywords in each job description and tailor your documents to give you the best possible chance of passing the ATS, but no two positions are written the same way. One hiring manager uses MBA, one uses Master of Business Administration. There is no magic formula when writing a CV to pass every ATS. When you are applying for positions you must identify the key words contained within the job description and tailor the CV accordingly to give yourself the best chance of getting through the Applicant Tracking System. Don’t let companies or writers charge you extra for an ATS compliant CV, they should already be doing this for the position you send them. For other positions, without them seeing the description, it’s impossible.
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While we pride ourselves on the excellent value for money our service delivers, I completely understand not everyone has the finances readily available to invest in a professional writer to assist with their application documents.
I’ve decided to make 7 short videos that I’ll send to you over the next seven days explaining the latest writing standards for job applications, ensuring the documents you write yourself are completed to an excellent standard, and give you the best chance of securing an interview. Throughout this short series I’ll explain how to write a cover letter guaranteed to increase your interview success rate, how to write a personal profile that ignites a desire within the reader to review your full CV or resume, how to professionally design and format your documents, which key sections you must include to increase your interview rate along with sections that aren’t relevant and how to utilise LinkedIn to climb the career ladder. Seeking a new position can be a stressful time. My aim for this series is to inform you of current best practices to increase your success rate. Thanks for coming along for the journey. I’m confident you’ll find these tutorials invaluable. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with in excess of 500 million professionals registered worldwide. It is estimated that around 80% of all positions filled are through some kind of referral, so it’s absolutely vital in this day and age that your LinkedIn profile is optimized.
Invest the time in your LinkedIn profile to ensure its completed to LinkedIn’s highest rating – All Star Level. Having an All Start profile increases your profile views 4-fold over the next highest rating which is Expert. Profiles with quality headshots receive 21 times more views than those without, and are 36 times more likely to receive messages from recruiters. Invest in a professional headshot – we provide a photo editing service that can transform good quality photos to professional headshots. When writing your LinkedIn profile, it’s important to ensure that the content closely matches your CV. Ensure that job titles, employer names, dates and duties match exactly – as any discrepancies will be questioned upon review of your application documents. Spend time adding skills that you can receive endorsements on, the more endorsements you collect the more your experience is proven to potential employers. Follow influencers within your industry and connect with specialist recruiters within your sector, this will open up a whole new world of potential opportunities for you. For more information on our LinkedIn writing service visit the services page of our website. Our LinkedIn experts are always on hand to assist with your profile. There is a lot of conflicting information on what sections your CV should contain. The truth is that this is going to vary from profession to profession.
Due to the rising popularity of online applications over the last 15 years, recruiters are now receiving over 8 times as many applications as they did in 2003. This has completely changed the way in which recruiters review your CV. They initially read it like consumers browse webpages, looking for keywords that spark a desire to read on, if they don’t find any within the first ten seconds they add it to the no pile. With this in mind, it’s important you aren’t wasting prime real estate space that simply isn’t relevant. These are sections like hobbies and interests, the recruiter is looking for someone to solve a problem within their business, not someone they can go scuba diving with on a weekend, so leave this out, this space can be better utilised with content showcasing your suitability for the position. Also, don’t list your references, no one contacts references at the application stage. Instead, at the end of your interview ask the recruiter whether they would like your references, this will give you immediate feedback on how the interview went. Your CV should contain the following sections in this order; personal information, A Personal profile, Key skills or areas of expertise, Employment Experience, Education, Awards, achievements and Licenses I’ll explain how to write all of these sections in the following videos within this series. For more information on our CV writing service visit the services page of our website. Our professional CV writers are always on hand to assist with your application. What personal information should you include and exclude from your CV and why?
The standard inclusions are pretty straight forward so they don’t need much explaining. When writing your CV include your full name, your direct phone number, your email address, a link to your LinkedIn profile and the city in which you live or are planning to work in if you are relocating. You don’t need to enter your full address on your CV, this is a privacy concern and nobody has physically posted employment acceptance or rejections letters within the last ten years. The equality act has made it no longer necessary to include your date of birth, race, marital status, sexual orientation or nationality. To ensure you don’t fall victim to discrimination don’t include these on your CV, they are not required. Also, don’t include your visa status, this will show that you are foreign and this is the leading area of discrimination candidates face at the CV review stage. If you hold a specialist driving license relevant to the position, show this on your CV. However, if you’re a seasoned professional, and driving isn’t an aspect of the position, don’t include your license information, this isn’t relevant. For more information on our CV writing service visit the services page of our website. Our professional CV writers are always on hand to assist with your application. Personal profiles are the ideal way for you to grab a recruiter’s attention and persuade them to continue reading your CV. This small paragraph sits directly at the top of your CV, concisely and effectively displaying who you are, your skills and strengths relevant to the sector or job role, and your career goals.
The vital thing to remember when writing your personal statement is to keep it around four sentences in length. As with your cover letter, If your opening statement is too broad, you’ll give the impression that you haven’t done your research and your CV will be discarded. When drafting your personal statement split it into three sections: who you are, what you can offer the company, and your career goals. Get straight to the point and provide evidence of your skills and experience, but be brief! Offer just enough information to hook the reader and ensure they read the full CV. Market yourself and make the statement look purposeful, show the recruiter you know what you’re talking about. Be personable! Recruiters ultimately want to know you as a person and what you can bring to the table and always proofread for spelling and grammar. Mistakes are an instant turnoff. For more information on our professional profile writing services visit our website. Our professional CV writers are always on hand to assist with your job application. Writing a targeted cover letter is the most crucial step for being selected for an interview.
Firstly, it shows you have taken the time to read and understand the job description, this will automatically give you an advantage over 35% of the other applicants. The way in which you write the cover letter should show how you specifically meet the criteria of the position. Identify the three key aspects the employer is looking for and detail tangible examples of this skill or experience within the cover letter. In terms of the length, aim for two to three paragraphs at most and certainly not more than an A4 page, the cover letter should be brief and the content should ignite a desire in the reader to review your CV. Ensure the cover letter is personally addressed to the hiring manager. Include their name, job title and the job reference. Don’t waste your time with generic cover letters, all this shows to the employer is that you are not actually interested in their particular position and that you are simply playing a numbers game. For more information on our cover letter writing services visit the cover letter section of our website under services. Our professional CV writers are always on hand to assist with your application. |
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January 2019
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