I wonder who invented the name ‘curriculum vitae’ for this particular document. I think they could have had no idea how the modern CV would evolve. No doubt the name was appropriate in the 1980s but CVs have come a very long way since then.



Yet it continues to surprise me just how many people think that a modern CV is still a type of potted biography. They go into great detail about every job they have had ever since their career began. They also explain all about where they went to school and what GCSE passes they achieved. On top of this they go on with fulsome descriptions of themselves which cannot possibly be validated. Why ever would a prospective employer need all that detailed information? Would they even have time to read it? The obvious answer is ‘no’.

So, in order to establish what a modern CV is, we need to identify the purpose for which it is intended. Well, let’s first ask ourselves why the employer needs to see a CV at all. What does he want it for? What is he trying to establish? As soon as we answer those questions we are already well on the way to understanding the answer to the question ‘What is a modern CV?’

The sad fact is that prospective employers are not interested in individual applicants. The only reason they need to see a CV is so that they can identify the right person to fill their job vacancy. If that person is you then don’t throw away your chance to prove it.

A modern CV is a marketing document for use in a very competitive environment. It represents your first point of contact with a new employer. Unless you have been ‘head-hunted’ then the information contained in your CV is all that the prospective employer can know about you in the first instance. So make sure that your CV gets the right message across.

Remember that for every job advertised there are likely to be about 200 applicants. That equates to 200 CVs for some poor individual to read. No wonder many of them are confined to the bin without even being read (the CV’s not the employers).

But here is the important part. You may be the ideal candidate – just what the employer is looking for – but he needs to recognise you. Unless your CV is user-friendly it may never get past the first hurdle. It needs to be presented in a way that can easily be understood by a very weary person who may already have had to plough through up to 200 other CVs.

Just because you understand the information in your CV doesn’t mean that somebody else will. After all you have an insider’s view. You need to overcome the temptation to put in all the detail and strip the information to the bare facts. Make sure that you only include the facts that the employer will need in the decision making process.

So to return to my point. What is a modern CV? It is your introduction to a prospective new employer. It is an opportunity to prove that you are the person with the skills and talents they are seeking. And unless it does that effectively, it will be your only opportunity because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

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