Here is the first part in a series of articles written by our experts in the Jet2holidays and Jet2.com Recruitment Team. The first is written by our Talent Acquisition Manager, Simon Wake who has 8 years’ experience working across IT, Architecture, Building Services, Construction, Broadcast and most recently, the airline sector.  Here he has outlined some top tips to help you stand out from the crowd and create a compelling CV that showcases your qualifications and increases your chances of landing your desired job.

Remember, it’s not just about what you include it’s also about what you leave out. Keep it relevant, honest and professionally presented and you’ll be on your way to career success.

• Put your experience in ascending order – start with what you’re up to right now, starting with what you’re doing now but only going as far back as is relevant. For example, GCSE grades or a weekend job delivering newspapers round aren’t relevant for a senior level job, but a self-funded course could be.

• Keep the details relevant – If you’re a graduate, the most important part of your CV will be your education. List this first and don’t be afraid to go into detail about your degree – shout about your achievement, it’ll be what makes you standout! If you’re an experienced applicant, focus on your work experience and transferable skills (school, college information won’t be as relevant in this case).

• Don’t be shy on your personal profile – this is the first thing the recruiter or hiring manager sees, and it’s the first chance you have to sell yourself as a good communicator. Include important but concise information such as: a clear opening statement with a professional job title, 2-3 key skills that will highlight you as a relevant candidate for the job, and close with your career goals – what are you trying to achieve with applying for the job? 

• Highlight your achievements – you’re selling yourself, in the summary of each job (or education) tell the reader about your successes, show what you’ve achieved. If you’ve implemented a new system that’s improved efficiencies, tell the reader this.  Whatever it is, it may set you apart from another applicant and will give you some excellent talking points for an interview.

• Don’t be scared to use AI – AI is slowly becoming increasingly important in everyday life, don’t be afraid to embrace it. Here’s a couple of good tools to get you started: https://swooped.co/ai-cover-letters/ – for generating a solid cover letter, https://resumaker.ai/ – for helping organise a CV. Remember though, while they help make things quicker and potentially more attractive, they will still need proof reading/editing.

There we have it, 5 simple tips to help improve your CV and make you stand out as an applicant. For more help with CV’s, reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonjohnwake/) and I’d be happy to share my experience with anyone struggling.

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