Winning The Career Game With A Gold Medal CV

The margin between first and second place has always been small. The difference is often thousandths of a second in a track race or perhaps one shot over four days to win a golf tournament.

When you are thinking about your chances with a new job opportunity, the margins are still small. If your CV fails to impress, however, and you are not invited to an interview, the rewards for excellence are the difference between having a chance to shine at the main event or not even being invited to the party.

Unlike professional sportsmen, we all have a chance to get an interview in the industry of your choice, just by simply getting the preparation of your CV just right. Of course your CV won’t get you an interview for a doctor’s position if you aren’t qualified, but you can at least give yourself the best possible chance of being invited to interview.

The smallest of mistakes in a CV hurt your chances like hitting the hurdle in a sprint hurdles race. You have about 20 seconds to make a favourable first impression or your chances are finished. Be hyper critical when reviewing your CV. If you cannot honestly say that you are sufficiently impressed with your CV to give yourself an interview, you should start again.

Attention to detail makes a significant difference in your CV. Beware the humble spell checker though. Over reliance on an American English check for your European English audience spells certain disaster (please excuse the pun). Context is also very important- the spell checker won’t pick up words in the correct grammatical context.

We live in the world of the computer and whilst the invention of the spell checker is indeed a wonderful thing, over reliance on its capabilities can be fatal to your job chances. Make 100% certain to check every spelling, context, grammar and tone of language. This cannot be done by machine- you have to do this in person.

If a company offers you the chance of a free CV review, then for goodness sake get it done. If it really is free, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Of course they are trying to get your business, but you might just get that nugget of information that makes the difference between getting the interview and not. My advice, get your CV reviewed- there is a lot to gain.