10 essential CV tips
Dan Reeves from sports recruiters The Executives in Sport Group reveals 10 essential CV tips.
- Tailor your covering note to each job you apply for. Many people send one CV/covering note for a whole range of jobs without thinking about the role and explaining why you are right for it.
- Be honest. Don’t embellish your achievements! If you’ve seen the Apprentice, you’ll know people get caught out.
- Don’t leave gaps in your employment. If there are holes in your employment history, employers will want to know why. Don’t leave any question marks.
- Make your CV easy to read and free of clutter. Keep it simple.
- Bullet points work best. Few recruiters or employers have the time to wade through large chunks of text. Sports jobs often receive loads of CVs and applications; employers haven’t got time to read your essay!
- Ensure your spelling, grammar and punctuation is correct. This is a bugbear of many employers. As recruiters, we often have to spellcheck CVs on behalf of would-be interviewees, and we don’t want to be doing that!
- The first page of your CV is the most important. Some people talk about the importance of keeping it to two pages… that’s less important, just make sure the key information is on page one. Start with a personal statement, then list your achievements and describe your current role, and how your skills apply to the job you want. Many employers/recruiters won’t get as far as the second page if the first doesn’t grab their attention.
- Make sure your contact details are right. Believe it or not, people do get this wrong! Check your phone number and email address. You’d be amazed, for example, how many people use .com instead of .co.uk.
- Use a professional email address. Don’t use stickyvicky69@hotmail.com, for example.
- Avoid using CV templates. Put a bit of effort in and show your creativity. Keep it simple, but try and do something that looks different. Use the same font and font size throughout, and keep it clean.
Are you looking for a job in sport? job in the fitness industry? Find the latest vacancies on the Careers in Sport jobs board.
Dan Reeves is from the Executives in Sport Group.