Interim advice: make your CV work for you

With interim and contract roles, your CV really has to shine. There will normally be strong competition for positions and the client will typically have a pressing need to get a suitable professional into the role quickly.

Therefore, your CV really has to impress a potential employer on their first glance. The first half of the page has to make an immediate impact and the right impression.

Your CV may be sent through a number of different channels; either direct to the client, to a specialist interim agency or a recruitment company. Whatever the destination of your CV, a few basic principles remain the same.

• Tailor your CV for the job and company in question.
• Put your most recent, relevant experience near the top of the page.
• Head your CV with up-to-date contact details.
• Include a very brief statement about yourself beneath your contact details outlining what you do and what you can offer.
• Keep it short, concise and well-structured.
• Use bullet points where possible rather than large chunks of text.
• Use actual statistics where possible (and applicable) to back up your achievements and make your successes more tangible.
• With large volumes of CVs to trawl through, the reader will want the key information to instantly jump out at them at first glance. Ensure that important details (such as your seniority, experience and functional knowledge) are immediately evident.

Some recruiters may search via keywords, so make sure you describe your experience in detail and using the appropriate industry language.

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