It’s that time of year where we start to look forward, shaking off our blankets and winter coats ready for the summer months. It’s not just a saying, most people find the warmer weather coming in encourages them to have a bit of a tidy up and get things in order. And why not? It’s a good exercise to have a spring clean from time to time. Not just of your physical belongings, but also of your online and mental data!

Use the Spring Clean motivation to have a look at your CV and keep it fresh. If you’re looking for a new career move or not, an annual refresh of your CV is worthwhile. If you aim to keep on top of it on an annual basis (more often if you want!), you’re ready and available should the perfect role appear in front of you without warning.

These days, whilst a lot of employers look at a lot more than a CV when it comes to recruiting, it’s important to have a strong CV presence to accurately represent you as a candidate and get you over the first hurdle in a job application.

Start by looking at your basics. Ensure your CV contains up-to-date contact information, including a professional email address. That Hotmail account that was funny when you were fifteen isn’t screaming ‘take me seriously as a professional’…

Include your LinkedIn handle on an online document, so you can guide recruiters to your professional online presence. Be aware of your social media footprint, and lock down profiles that you may want to keep private. For those in specific fields where online presence is key (marketing, communications, professional services) you may want to highlight profiles that you’ve curated and are proud of, so include links to any that you feel are relevant.

Education and qualifications are important, but keep this short and sweet. Where things are relevant to your professional field, highlight these, and give an overview of the rest, so you’re really showing off the qualifications and study that will benefit you in your chosen career path.

Work experience and history; it’s important to be thorough, and list your roles in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Try to keep it concise, with a sentence or two outlining your role and responsibilities, and then add a key achievement you are proud of in that role. There’s no real reason to explain your reason for leaving each role, it just adds bulk to your CV that can bring a negative vibe. If you have strong feelings on why you left a particular role, this can be discussed at an interview stage.

On the subject of work experience and history, it’s a good idea to think about the length of your CV and how this section affects it. If you’re in the early stages of your professional journey, yes, including your entire working history may be a good idea, however if you’ve a career spanning decades, it’s probably sensible to trim up your work history if it includes things dating back as far as your first paper round or your Year 10 work experience at school! Try reading your CV back to yourself but imagine you’re the recruiting manager. At what point do you start yawning? Trim it to there!

Finally, even though this is often at the beginning of a CV, consider your personal statement. Make this something clear and self-aware. Describe your professional self in a couple of sentences, before adding in another paragraph or so about your goals and aspirations. Keep this section fluid, so you can easily edit it to tailor it to the job spec of the role you’re applying for.

This might seem a lot of work to do, but if you keep on top of it with an annual Spring Clean, you’ll have a tidy and accurate CV at hand whenever you may need it! Want to get some feedback on yours? Contact one of our Professional Services team today and we’ll happily talk you through our thoughts…and maybe give you some food for thought about the opportunities we could put you forward for!