
With such fierce competition in the job hunting market you cannot afford to take liberties with your CV. You only get just the one chance to make a good first impression with your application, and any kind of mistake will result in rejection.
So you may be wondering if your CV still holds up today, or if you need to start again from scratch? We would like to set the record straight and help you make the right decision. A brand new CV could be just what you need to push past those out of work blues.
Here are the 3 signs telling you that you need to write a new CV.
Your CV is very old
If you’ve stuck around with the same old CV for the past few years or even decades – then now is the time to write a new one. Presentation is everything, and your CV will not fair so well in today’s creative CV writing industry.
More and more people are downloading free CV templates to save time. Not only is this a quicker way to create a CV, it’s also a great way to ensure it looks good. The employer wants to see a professionally laid out CV which grabs their attention. Your CV from 1992 isn’t going to do that!
Your CV is getting small updates
A common method of CV writing is to make small updates as the years roll on. Every time a new job comes along it’s just a simple case of adding on the details – company name, job title, tasks, and so on.
Unfortunately these small updates don’t change the fact that your CV is still looking old and tired. Using the same CV for all these years and making minor changes means you are out of touch with today’s modern CV template designs.
You are applying for a job
The bottom line is that if you’re applying for a job you should be looking to create a brand new CV. This is because the employer wants to see the relevant skills, qualifications and experience and doesn’t care about anything else.
If you use the same CV each time it means you are failing to address what the employer has requested in the job advert. What are the chances that your CV is going to have the exact same skills and match all the right keywords? The answer is – it won’t!
Tailor your CV every time you apply to make sure you cover everything. Writing a brand new CV each time will help you to ensure you don’t miss anything out. Of course, if you write a CV and apply to numerous jobs at the same time you don’t have to start completely from scratch. But you should however make adjustments to suit the needs of the company.
If you are career focused and your applications are being sent to a few companies for the same role, then small adjustments to each one will give you a massive boost. Matching the keywords from the job advert and researching the company before you apply will help to shape your CV. If however you are applying for roles in different sectors, then it may be a good idea to write a new CV for each one.
Writing a new CV from fresh also gives you the opportunity of choosing an ATS-friendly layout. There is a wide range of ATS-friendly CV templates here : cvtemplatemaster.com/tag/ats-cv/