Getting ready for a job search? Learn how to spruce up your curriculum vitae (CV) by cutting the clutter, reorganising around your centrepiece and polishing until your experience shines.
It’s easy to accumulate dusty old paperwork and unnecessary clutter after years of living in the same place. The same is true of working in the same place for a while. If you take a look at your CV, you may find that it’s filled with out-dated material, when you could be making room for the new.
ManpowerGroup South Africa’s MD Lyndy van den Barselaar, suggests that even if you’re not planning a big move, it’s healthy to take stock of your inventory and clean house from time to time.
In the run-up to Spring Day, here are five tips for spring cleaning your CV:
Start simple
One barrier to spring-cleaning is thinking you need to do it all, and accessorising with all sorts of tools and cleaners first.
Suddenly, you have a broom closet with even more clutter, filled with cleaning products and nothing to show for it. It’s similarly easy to overthink cleaning your CV by experimenting with too many templates, constantly tweaking your format and even changing the font over and over.
This is a recipe for burnout.
“Make sure to choose a style that will most effectively highlight your skills and abilities,” says van den Barselaar.
Just as it’s better to pick one room and start organising, pick one part of your CV to start your focus and build momentum from there.
Reorganise around your centrepiece
So where should you start? Think about what you want visitors to see first when they walk into your house. Is it time to update your featured centrepiece?
Once you have that figured out, everything will flow from there. You should treat your CV with the same care as a grand entrance. Start with your main objective, and it becomes easier to decide what skills and experiences you want to organise around it.
“Think of this as your elevator pitch – you have around 30 seconds to captivate the reader or listener. Put your best foot forward, and avoid repetition and long-winded explanations,” says van den Barselaar.
Renew your references
Your go-to references may be professors or old mentors that you haven’t talked to in years. Reach out to your references and update them on what you’ve been up to. You may also find it’s time to take off some names, and add current associates who can speak to your latest accomplishments.
If you don’t use it, toss it
There’s a temptation to keep all the widgets in your closet in case you might use them someday. The same is true of the long list of skills you include on your CV. The rule of thumb for housekeeping is if you haven’t used it in six months throw it out.
The skills you use for your own job have an expiration date. Be honest with yourself: do you still use the skills you feature in your CV, or do they feel out-dated or obsolete? If you don’t use it, delete it.
“Especially when applying for a specific position, make sure you put the skills that are most important to that role at the top of your list,” says van den Barselaar.
Get out the polish
After you’ve done the heavy lifting, the final step of housecleaning is to make your surfaces gleam. With your CV, you can do this by making sure it’s concise, spelling and grammar is perfect, and the formatting is neat and aesthetically pleasing.
“Having an updated and concise CV is important, even when you are not actively searching for new employment,” says van den Barselaar. “Ensure that you put some time aside to spring clean your CV this Spring Day, and every few months going forward.”