10 Questions To Ask Yourself When Creating or Updating Your CV

Your CV is your personal marketing document.  The purpose of your CV is to get you invited for interview.  Most people understand this.

Over the last 20 or so years I have looked at several hundred CV’s and it would be fair to say that on the whole the standard has been at best variable.

One reason for this might well be that people fail to stand back, think and plan before they start drafting the document.

In my experience there are at least 10 key questions that you should be keeping at the forefront of your mind when creating or updating your CV.tmp3C

  1. What’s my headline? In other words what’s the key message I want to get across in my professional profile.
  2. What have I achieved in my career to date that would be of value and interest to my next employer?
  3. What are my key skills?
  4. What are my best attributes?
  5. What differentiates me from others in my field?
  6. What can I offer to an organisation?
  7. What can you rely on me for?
  8. What contributions will I make?
  9. What’s my track record to date?
  10. How do I fit the requirements of the role?

In truth getting invited for job interviews is harder than you think.  By stepping into the shoes of those making the shortlisting decisions, you greatly increase the chances of being on the list of people invited for interview.

Duncan Brodie helps accountants to achieve more career success.  Learn more here.

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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