Want to Shorten Your CV? Here Are 7 Ways to Condense It Without Losing Value
How long should your CV be?
This is a question which, most job seekers ask especially when they have long and varied career history.
As a job hunter, you are often told to keep your CV concise. A well-crafted CV should be brief to ensure that it gets the message across swiftly, and it should have relevant skills and knowledge without missing important.
The size of a CV can have an impact on its efficiency and it can either make or break the first good impression of the employer.
Shortening your CV increases readability and makes it easier for the employer to understand your qualifications.
If you have a 6-page CV and you want to cut it down to a manageable size that is short without losing its value, then do not worry!
Here are 7 tips to condense it.
1. Know What’s Important
Before you work on your CV, ensure that you research the target employers, understand the most in-demand skills and those which are less valuable. This will guide you to edit your CV effectively.
Go through job adverts that you are interested in, list the skills, qualifications, and experience that commonly occur, and adapt your CV accordingly.
2. Shorten Older Roles
All experience should not be included in your CV. You can do away with internship roles unless they are relevant to the position or just shorten them under other experience. Employers spend more time analyzing the current most recent roles and may not be interested in the roles you did 15 years ago. Give a brief detail to give the employer an idea of your background and career progression.
3. Remove Irrelevant Information
If there is information that you feel is not important to the positions that you are applying for, then you should cut them down.
A well-customized CV should meet the expectations of the employer and you should not include everything that you have done in the past. Select the relevant information that will make you stand out.
4. Write Concisely
Long-winded sentences may not get the point quickly and clearly. Avoid the use of personal pronouns, filler words and use bullet points.
Keeping the statements brief saves space and makes your message easy to read.
5. Summarise Your Qualifications
If you have a bachelor’s degree, the employer may not be interested in the units you did in the four years. Mention the school you attended, the course, and the year. Do away with primary school education.
6. Shorten Your Career Profile
The career objective is the first thing employers see while scanning your CV. Ensure that it is short because long CVs take much space and may diminish its impact.
Mention your profession, expertise, and the value you will bring to the position you are applying for.
7. Combine Multiple Sections
If there are multiple sections or roles that you feel are relatively related, then it is better when they are combined because this will save the save which will be used for relevant information.
Summary,
Employers spend little time scanning through your CV and creating a succinct CV without leaving important information is important if you want to be invited for an interview. Having a short and sweet CV saves a lot of time for the employer when they are finding the ideal candidate for the position.
Do you have a lengthy CV and want it to be condensed to accommodate the important information?
Our Professional CV Writers will give you a FREE CV REVIEW Today!