Top tips to create an outstanding CV in a technology driven world

Writing a CV to get you a job is not the same in 2013 as it was in 2003. Never mind getting your CV read for 20 seconds by an actual person. As technology is consistently improving and how people work changes, this also changes how you should present your CV when job searching. Writing an outstanding CV in today's digital age can be tricky.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Keep it digital
Traditional resumes were designed to be readable, easy to fax or copy but employers no longer have a pile of resumes sitting on their desks waiting to be read. Every single day, more and more of the world is online, and as that trend continues the internet is becoming our first choice of where to go to find things, including searching for people to fill the position that just opened up at a company.

If you want to make sure that companies and recruiters can find you quickly and easily, you must create a digital resume for yourself and have an updated LinkedIn profile.

Showcase your personality
I doubt a black and white 12-point font CV can help you express your skills and personality accurately. There is only so much you can include that will keep the recruiter interested. The digital CV, on the other hand, lets you show off more than just your skills, work history, and references. It gives the employer a more interactive experience of your actual life.

They can see the kind of personality you radiate and immediately note if you are a culture fit et al. You can add links to your work portfolio, your social media profiles, blog sites, and this will enable you to present a more complete picture of the kind of person you are and the experience you have gained.

Keywords
Using the right keywords that match the job requirements is key to being noticed when job searching. This is because, before it can get to a human, your application has to go through an applicant tracking system. This ATS will be scanning through your CV looking for certain 'keywords'. Typically, the better your resume matches the job description requirements and keywords, the higher you'll rank in the ATS.

Online resume builders
Not everyone will feel the need to have a website, online portfolio of their work, or professional social media sites, especially if they are not early adopters and are in a remote industry. The solution for you is to use an online resume builder. Sites like My Perfect Resume are perfect examples of online resume builders you can visit. They are easy to use and are simpler than creating a resume by hand you can even download the CV and save it as a PDF file.

Communicate Recruitment is a specialist recruitment company with over 3 decades of experience. We can assist you with your job search. We have great career opportunities for great candidates. Click here to learn more.