I have a more general question on CVs: I’ve always held to the school of thought that you should highlight the things that are most relevant for what you’re applying for, and basically leave other stuff out—or refer to eg LinkedIn. I’ve done quite a lot across different areas, and this now leaves me readjusting my CV constantly! I’m also not necessarily sure I’m cutting the ‘right’ stuff—how do I know if the hiring team are actually interested in something I’ve done but they haven’t put it in the job ad as a requirement… A friend recently told me they were advised to condense the white space on their CV and add more content to it. What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Clare! I think this varies a lot by industry. For one example, here is a guide to policy/government resumes with some tips and examples. In general I think tailoring your resume to the specific posting and emphasizing the relevant skills can be useful, just be sure to accurately represent your experience. Paying close attention to the job posting can also help you try to get in the mindset of a hiring manager. But it can be hard to know specific answers from the outside. I think this is why networking among colleagues, peers, hiring managers in your industry, etc for informal advice and conversations can help model others’ expectations. For example I could see you discussing this at an EAG or EAGx conference.
[I’m just someone on the Internet, not a career adviser or anything]
Personally I think this question depends a lot on the specific circumstances. Keeping the resume brief is good general advice but I think there are plenty of situations where more information is good and helpful.
One thing you might consider is trying to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager (for the specific position in question). Imagine you have to get through 200 resumes. What would you want to see as you look at each one? If you took a closer look at a resume, what green or red flags would you watch out for? It’s shocking to me how rare this perspective-taking is.
I have a more general question on CVs:
I’ve always held to the school of thought that you should highlight the things that are most relevant for what you’re applying for, and basically leave other stuff out—or refer to eg LinkedIn. I’ve done quite a lot across different areas, and this now leaves me readjusting my CV constantly! I’m also not necessarily sure I’m cutting the ‘right’ stuff—how do I know if the hiring team are actually interested in something I’ve done but they haven’t put it in the job ad as a requirement… A friend recently told me they were advised to condense the white space on their CV and add more content to it. What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Clare! I think this varies a lot by industry. For one example, here is a guide to policy/government resumes with some tips and examples. In general I think tailoring your resume to the specific posting and emphasizing the relevant skills can be useful, just be sure to accurately represent your experience. Paying close attention to the job posting can also help you try to get in the mindset of a hiring manager. But it can be hard to know specific answers from the outside. I think this is why networking among colleagues, peers, hiring managers in your industry, etc for informal advice and conversations can help model others’ expectations. For example I could see you discussing this at an EAG or EAGx conference.
[I’m just someone on the Internet, not a career adviser or anything]
Personally I think this question depends a lot on the specific circumstances. Keeping the resume brief is good general advice but I think there are plenty of situations where more information is good and helpful.
One thing you might consider is trying to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager (for the specific position in question). Imagine you have to get through 200 resumes. What would you want to see as you look at each one? If you took a closer look at a resume, what green or red flags would you watch out for? It’s shocking to me how rare this perspective-taking is.