CV essentials

<p><img alt="CV essentials" src="/getasset/01979d83-289b-4044-a9c3-5ee1a21c7961/" /></p>

<p>On average a professional recruiter will see thousands of CVs each month.&nbsp; As a result, they will spend, on average, 10-15 seconds reviewing any given CV.&nbsp; This means that your CV has to convey the most pertinent information effectively and concisely.&nbsp; Too much information creates distraction and hides the key elements.&nbsp; Not enough information will not reflect your true skills, qualifications and capabilities.&nbsp; It’s a bit of a balancing act.</p>

<p>Let me quantify this by providing some insight into the world of recruiting.&nbsp; It is a game of numbers – volume.&nbsp; For every open vacancy, regardless of the discipline, a recruiter will process dozens of prospective candidates.&nbsp; For a recruiter, they know that the key to success is having the capability of reviewing, screening, and vetting many people quickly and efficiently.&nbsp; So, they don’t have the time nor the inclination to sit and read a dissertation about your life, dreams, goals and passions. They are reviewing the CV with one single notion in mind:&nbsp; Does this person have the potential to possibly match with the vacancy I am trying to fill?&nbsp; Your job is to help them quickly come to the simple conclusion of:&nbsp; <em>YES</em>.&nbsp; Once they determine the potential exists they will reach out to you right away.</p>

<p>Since there is no universal CV format, the spectrum of formats varies from CV to CV:&nbsp; from no discernable format to highly effective.&nbsp; The key is identifying what the pertinent information you need to highlight is and simultaneously reducing or eliminating the non-pertinent information.&nbsp; Therefore, I suggest having two CVs: an initial CV that highlights the key aspects of your qualifications and capabilities (the information needed to get the recruiter to think ‘YES’ and reach out to you) and a second CV that includes more details, explanations and descriptions that will help the recruiter understand you and your qualifications more clearly after they identify you as a possible match.&nbsp; The first CV gets you the desired follow up.&nbsp; The second CV fills in the gaps.&nbsp; In the long run, they are not just looking for qualifications exclusively.&nbsp; The other aspects of you as a person are just as relevant and important for getting selected:&nbsp; attitude, work ethic, interpersonal skills. But these will not get that initial and highly coveted ‘YES’.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At risk of sounding daft, I must first address the most fundamental of all information that every CV must contain:</p>

<p><strong>Header information</strong></p>

<ol>
<li>Your name</li>
<li>Your contact information – <em><u>ALL</u></em> of your contact information (email address, telephone number(s), WeChat ID, Skype ID, etc.)&nbsp; <u>Make it easy to be contactable</u>.&nbsp; Recruiters don’t have time to chase down people and the market is so rich with qualified candidates they will simply move onto the next one.</li>
<li>For flight crew I suggest including your age or date of birth as this is important.</li>
</ol>

<p>(And don’t laugh, we see CVs with no names or contact information far too often.)</p>

<p>Now let's consider the other key elements:</p>

<p><strong>Experience</strong></p>

<p style="margin-left:18.0pt;">This is the section that the recruiter will hone in on and try to identify whether your experience and qualifications match with the requirements of the open vacancy.&nbsp; Be bold, be concise, be specific – and be organized.&nbsp; A good layout is essential:&nbsp; DO use more of a checklist style format.&nbsp; DON’T string information together.&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-left:18.0pt;">For example:</p>

<p style="margin-left:36.0pt;"><strong>DO</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>Supervisor, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul, A-320 and A-330</li>
<li>EASA licensed B1 aircraft Engineer</li>
<li>Avionics technician</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>ABC MRO, Supervisor, 06/2010 – Present</li>
<li>XYZ MRO, Airframe technician, A-320, 01/2000-05/2010</li>
</ol>

<p style="margin-left:36.0pt;"><strong>DON’T</strong></p>

<p style="margin-left:36.0pt;">I have worked as a supervisor for 7 years and 11 months at ABC Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, a global aircraft repair facility, overseeing a team of 35 full-time specialists who are trained to provide a full spectrum of aircraft repair and overhaul services on A-320 and A-330 aircraft, including but not limited to, airframe, powerplant., interiors, avionics and paint.</p>

<p style="margin-left:36.0pt;">…the recruiter has already moved onto the next CV or fallen asleep.</p>

<p>If you are a pilot, then the layout should be as follows:</p>

<ul>
<li>EASA ATPL</li>
<li>A-320 Type Rating</li>
<li>A-330 Type Rating</li>
</ul>

<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width:114px;">
<p align="center"><strong>Aircraft Type</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:102px;">
<p align="center"><strong>PIC</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:90px;">
<p align="center"><strong>SIC</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:84px;">
<p align="center"><strong>Total</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:114px;">
<p>A-320</p>
</td>
<td style="width:102px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
<td style="width:90px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
<td style="width:84px;">
<p align="center">2,000</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:114px;">
<p>A-330</p>
</td>
<td style="width:102px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
<td style="width:90px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
<td style="width:84px;">
<p align="center">2,000</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:114px;">
<p>Military</p>
</td>
<td style="width:102px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
<td style="width:90px;">
<p align="center">0</p>
</td>
<td style="width:84px;">
<p align="center">1,000</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:114px;">
<p><strong>Total</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:102px;">
<p align="center"><strong>3,000</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:90px;">
<p align="center"><strong>2,000</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="width:84px;">
<p align="center"><strong>5,000</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<div style="clear:both;">&nbsp;</div>

<p>I could determine in literally 5 seconds if this person matches with a vacancy from the header and above information.&nbsp; 5 seconds.&nbsp; For a recruiter that is perfection.</p>

<p><strong>Personal hobbies and interests</strong></p>

<p>These are nice to know things – but whether you like football, bicycles or sailing will have no impact on the recruiter’s initial review.&nbsp; If you have space left over, then this is nice to add – if you don’t then don’t add a second page just to include it. &nbsp;This is good information for the second CV for sure.</p>

<p><strong>Other key considerations</strong></p>

<p><u>CV Length:</u></p>

<p>For your initial CV, keep it to one page if you can.&nbsp; The second CV, with more details, will be longer of course.&nbsp; However, this is to be expected.&nbsp; If the recruiter is interested in you then this means you have made it through the initial screening process and now their task it to further refine the group to identify the top contenders.&nbsp;</p>

<p><u>Spacing:</u></p>

<p>Balance the line spacing to set different experience / job history apart.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you’d like help reviewing and formatting your CV we are happy to help.&nbsp; Simply contact Mr. Mark Sterns at <a href="mailto:mark.sterns@paramountarg.com">mark.sterns@paramountarg.com</a>.&nbsp; For $100 USD he will review, discuss and suggest ways to make your CV as effective as possible.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>