Your profile is a short introductory paragraph at the top of your CV, and is the first thing that a recruiter will see upon opening your CV. It needs to excite people and encourage them to continue reading the rest of your CV.
What to include in your CV profile
To provide employers with a catching summary of what you can offer them, you should include the following information;
- Skills – An overview of your skills which are relevant to the job you are applying for.
- Experience – A summary of the types of jobs you have done, and companies you have worked for.
- Qualifications – A brief explanation of your most relevant qualifications.
- Benefits – How would employers benefit from hiring you? Will you make their customers happy? Save them money? Improve their business?
Although this seems to be a lot of information, it’s important to keep this section brief by providing an overview of these factors, and not going into too much detail.
CV profile format
The format of your CV profile should be a simple brief paragraph of around 5-8 lines in length. Recruiters will initially review your CV for 6-8 seconds before deciding to shortlist it or not, so you need to get your message across to them quickly here.
You should think of your profile as an elevator pitch, where you have a few seconds to tell employers why you are a suitable candidate for the job you are applying to. Once you’ve passed this initial scan, recruiters will invest more time into reviewing the rest of your CV.
Your profile should be written in fully formed sentences that are easy for anybody to understand – and don’t be afraid to sell yourself.
Tailoring your CV profile
The key to writing a good CV profile is demonstrating to recruiters WHY you are the best candidate for the job they are advertising. To do this, you must tailor the profile to match the recruiter’s requirements of the job you are targeting.
So, how do you do this? “You research your target roles before you write your CV.”
Run a search for the type of job you are applying for across multiple job websites and build a list of the most common skills, experience and qualifications being asked for in job adverts. Once you have compiled this list, you will have a solid idea of the key words that your target employers are looking for. Then you simply have to reflect those in-demand requirements in your profile as much as possible. The more suitable skills and knowledge that a recruiter sees in you profile, the more likely you are to get call-backs and invited for interviews. You should also look to tailor the rest of your CV in a similar fashion for maximum effect.
Tip: If you are lacking some of the key requirements for the jobs you want – think of ways you could obtain them. For example, if you are missing a qualification, could you take an online course? If you are missing work experience, could you take up a brief voluntary role?
What to avoid in your CV profile
To ensure your CV makes a positive impact on recruiters, try to avoid the following mistakes.
Clichés and buzzwords:
- I am a hardworking team-player
- I always go the extra mile
- I am a strong communicator
- I think outside the box
These phrases do not impress employers. The problem with these cliché phrases is that they are vague, overused and don’t tell recruiters anything specific about you. Instead, focus on describing your industry specific skills, experience and achievements, because they are what recruiters will be looking for.
Adding a core skills section
If you want to make an impact when your CV is opened, add a core skills section to your profile. It’s essentially a bullet pointed list, of attributes which ideally should relate directly to the requirements that your potential employers are looking for.
This helps you to create that big instant impression of suitability that you need to get a response from your job applications. You can include anything that will be relevant, from IT skills and industry knowledge, to education results and achievements. Just make sure they are important to the roles you are applying for by researching relevant job adverts.
Once you are happy with your profile we will discuss how to add your work experience and education to your CV. See you soon in my upcoming blog on how to add work experience, education and hobbies to your CV.
Enjoy!!!
Anja@350VA