READ TIME – 6 MINUTES

Your CV submission is one of the most vital stages in your application process. It is a central hub where a recruiter can see your employment and education history, achievements and how you present yourself. If you’re wondering how to make your CV stand out – don’t panic.

Your CV tells a recruiter everything they need to know about you instantly, easing their decision-making process when deciding if they should put you through to the next stage. It takes 7 seconds for a recruiter to explore your CV and decide if your profile fits the role.

Whether you are a graduate or a seasoned job applicant, you must understand the importance of having a gripping, thorough and accurate resume.

Recruiters see hundreds of CVs each day. If yours does not have the unique qualities they are looking for, it will quickly get tossed aside onto the rubbish pile.

At AvA-V, we encourage candidates to update their CVs regularly. Optimising your CV gives you the best chance of securing your dream role.

Here’s AvA-V’s very own Lauren explaining how to make your CV stand out from the crowd.

How To Make CV Stand Out

Tailor Your CV to the Role

You want to be the best candidate possible, so why would you submit an application that isn’t remotely related to it?

It seems crazy that somebody would submit a CV that didn’t align with the requirements set out in the job description, right?

Surprisingly, it’s not that uncommon.

Aligning your CV with the job description is crucial in the world of Recruitment.

Firstly, it demonstrates that you have the required skills. It is great to have a list of general skills and achievements, but they can appear irrelevant if they’re unrelated to the vacancy you’re applying for.

Secondly, it solidifies your interest in the role. If you take the time to address the company by name and mention the specific job title, it shows the employer that you carefully analysed the job advert and that you understand the role requirements.

Finally, it can help you bypass applicant tracking systems. Many modern hiring managers have multiple roles to work and, as such, they don’t have time to filter through CVs themselves. To help them overcome this, recruiters use automatic CV tools that filter out unrelated applications.

By including choice keywords (company name, job title), you can help guarantee that your application will bypass the automated system and reach the human recruiter.

TOP TIP: If you’re wondering how to make CV stand out, you could try having multiple copies of your CV that are each aligned to various types of roles.

How To Make A CV Stand Out

Sell Yourself!

Job hunting is competitive. To succeed, you need to know how to make your CV stand out compared to your competitors.

Lots of people struggle to talk positively about themselves. Because of this, they tend to undersell themselves throughout their CV.

Here are some pointers to help you understand how to make a cv stand out.

A personal statement usually appears at the start of your CV and it describes who you are. It usually lasts for 2-3 sentences and allows you to show off how amazing you are.

A personal statement is your chance to show off and immediately grab a recruiter’s attention. Your personal statement acts as a summary that condenses everything crucial about your application into a couple of sentences. If you nail this, you are already on the right path to securing an interview.

Once you have established the basics, it is time to start selling yourself with detail.

Unique Selling Points (USP) make you different from everyone else. USPs can be related to your professional or personal life and should be something nobody else applying for your role can mention.

Have you ever exceeded your targets by 300%? Did you meet a celebrity? Have you ever jumped out of a plane?

These are all little details that will interest a recruiter and help you understand how to make a cv stand out prior to your screening interview.

By selling how amazing you are, you’re doing all the hard work at the beginning of the application process. You’re standing out as a candidate and providing recruiters with fascinating details that will keep you fresh in the mind.

How To Make CV Stand Out

Your CV Should be Easy to Digest

If you’re wondering how to make your CV stand out and you’re struggling with presenting your resume, we’ve got some advice for you.

A good CV should be clear, concise and precise.

There’s nothing worse for recruiters with limited time than to open a CV and be greeted by a wall of text. It’s difficult to read and will end up in the rubbish pile.

To make your CV more readable, simplify its appearance and make its contents easy to consume. For instance, proper CV formatting can include; font size, line spacing, and using a standard font and headings to separate different sections of your CV.

Now that you have the basics down, you should learn how to make C stand out with the information you deliver.

Indeed report that the average length of a CV should be around two to three pages long. If it is any longer than this, your points may be too lengthy and make cv stand out for the wrong reasons

The final part of creating an impactful CV is to be thorough with your proofing. If you’re curious about how to make your CV stand out, a surprisingly easy way to achieve your goal is to ensure that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are immaculate.

It may seem minor, but the number of CVs that contain grammatical mistakes is unbelievably high. Adzuna report that more than 6 in 10 British CVs contain spelling mistakes.

If you can create a detailed, easy-to-follow, and mistake-free CV, you’re already on the way to make CV stand out. Getting the little things right will help you if you want to know how to make your CV stand out.

How To Make your CV Stand Out

How To Make A CV Stand Out

How to Make Your CV Stand Out by Being Discoverable

It’s time to understand how to make CV stand out by adding your contact details to your CV.

All good CVs should contain multiple contact details in the document header. For instance, these can include phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses and any professional platforms/portfolios.

It is critical to include a link to any professional profiles you have so that a hiring manager can understand who you are and make an informed decision based on your online presence.

A reported 86% of recruiters use LinkedIn to check candidates who have applied for a role. Get ahead of the curve and take control of the situation by providing recruiters with direct access to your profile.

By placing your contact details in a prominent place on your CV, you’re telling recruiters that you want to hear from them and that you deserve to be contacted because your application is so good.

How to Make CV Stand Out - An AvA-V Summary

Hopefully, you now know how to make your CV stand out from the crowd.

Your CV should be thorough, direct, and clear and sell yourself in the best possible light. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself as it is significant to the success of your application.

Don’t Just Take It From Us, Take It From The Candidates We’ve Helped With Their Applications…

Ryan Harper - Griffiths
Ryan Harper - Griffiths
Very helpful. Jacob Shaw who helped me was super friendly and straight to the point, and gave me all the information I needed. Highly recommend
Shual Ahmed
Shual Ahmed
I've been talking to Craig at Ava-v, a top-quality bloke full of ideas, and always happy to help. looking forward to doing work in the future with him. Shual
Stu Dowling
Stu Dowling
Fantastic 1 day course, thankyou David
Heather Poole
Heather Poole
The training was well structured, engaging and fun. I am looking forward to implementing what I have learnt into my day to day work habits. I would recommend any company that is looking for customer service training to use AVA-V.
P Jones
P Jones
Thoroughly enjoyed todays session covering customer experience strategies. Our coach for the day David Farley, delivered an excellent session outlining best practice, strategies and plans to help improve future interaction/communication with our customers. I would definitely recommend the course, highly informative and very entertaining.
James Anderson
James Anderson
Dave is engaging and highly informative.
Emma Skuce
Emma Skuce
Fantastic training, can’t wait to use it and see the results!
Oliver Hayward
Oliver Hayward
Brilliant day, very informative, really engaging. Thanks Dave 😁