The Course of my Life

I recently received a request to participate in some academic research into what makes a ‘good’ Curriculum Vitae or CV. My personal definition of, ‘good’, being that which passes the ten-second test of a prospective employer. Ten seconds typically being the time it takes a recruiter to scan read a CV and decide whether to reject or study the candidate in more detail.

Over my career, I have reviewed hundreds upon hundreds of CVs. Those of inexperienced young graduates during the ‘Milk Rounds’ of universities in the 1980s. To those of the experienced managers, I considered at the end of my career.

I’ve been on the other side of the fence too. Offering my own CV for consideration and taking the advice of professionals as to how to improve that CV.

No more than two pages (around the first 30 years of my career are now a footnote on my CV) and no fancy or coloured fonts, or photos or embedded links. A CV that tells employers what difference you made. Lots of action words; delivered, reduced, improved, led. And with facts, not vague offerings.

You should also ‘tweak’ a CV to better emphasise what you can bring to the role in question. I don’t think I have ever submitted the same CV twice.

I have looked at research that showed that a recruiter scans a CV’s summary paragraph and then primarily focuses on the left-hand side. Considering dates and titles, before quickly glancing at the second page. As I wrote earlier, the ten-second test.

I’m looking forward to contributing to such research. To offer an opinion as to what makes a ‘good’ CV. Moreover, if the results of that research can help someone put together a better CV that helps them gain the job they want, then my contribution won’t go to waste.

The loose translation from the Latin of Curriculum Vitae is, ‘the course of my life’. Of course, it’s not. What we call our CV is at best the course of one’s career. Unless you live to work, you write little of your true life in a CV. I’ve often pondered what my real Curriculum Vitae might reflect. The differences I’ve made, my real achievements, my impact on the lives of others. I wonder whether that one would pass the 10-second test.

OK, enough philosophy.