Writing a CV for Policy Advisors

Friday, November 6, 2020
Keep your CV to two pages

Several pieces of research have been carried out into how recruiters read CVs. They show that somewhere between 5 and 30 seconds is spent on average reading a CV. All those hours spent writing and honing your CV will be to nothing if we don’t consider the behaviour of the person who will be reading it. There is quite simply no point in having a detailed CV over many pages. Keep it to no more than 2 sides with a word count of around 750.

Make sure your achievements stand out

Many job seekers simply recite a list of duties and responsibilities in their CV. Some just copy and paste information from their job description. The trouble with this is that the information is dry and impersonal. You’ve got to tell your own story for each employment. To show you performing well in a similar or related role. So, you need to give specific examples of achievements. Support these with facts and figures and focus on the outcomes. Remember, it’s not what we do that counts, it is the results.


Tailor your CV for every application

Even though you may be applying for roles with the same job title, the requirements can be quite different. The job description and person specification detail the criteria an organisation will be using to assess applications. Mirroring this information in your CV is vital. Do not rely on one generic CV but tailor it for each job you apply for. Look carefully at the key terms and phrases and replicate these. This will also help the CV to get through applicant tracking systems (ATS)

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

ATS are used by many job boards and organisations to filter CVs. It is estimated 70% of applicant CVs are filtered out before being ranked and forwarded to the recruiter. They work like search engines, scouring CVs for concentrations of key words and phrases aligned to a specific job description. All job descriptions are written differently so you cannot write one CV for a ‘policy advisor’ and expect your CV to simply pass through all ATS filters. The best way of getting your CV through ATS is, yes, you guessed it: tailor your CV for every application.

This article is written by Neville Rose, Director of CV Writers.

CV Writers are the official CV partner to Guardian Jobs.

Original Article @ https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/writing-a-cv-for-policy-advisors/?s=44