Cappuccinos and CVs? They have more in common than you think.
Before I start to discuss the nature of cappuccinos can I firstly declare that I am actually not a great lover of them. This is not some inbuilt anti – Italian sentiment, for I am a big fan of the modern day inhabitants of the old Roman Empire. There is something essentially cool and suave about being Italian that the British simply don’t manage. Well I certainly don’t. They do wine, women and song; we do lager, ladettes and karaoke. They have Milan; we have Manchester. They have a lot of sunshine; we have bucket loads of rain….you get the gist I’m sure.
But they also have cappuccinos which by anyone’s standard is a very inconsistent drink. I say this because your average cappuccino is a bit like a trifle; there are many different layers to it. You start off with the good bits at the top; the sprinkled chocolate and then the milky froth that gives you the coffee flavoured moustache, and then you get to the less interesting bit underneath which everyone always leaves half of. This is the lukewarm mess at the bottom which excites no one, and always leaves me regretting I didn’t order an espresso or americano instead; proper coffee drinks – not warm milk with some dubious flavouring in it.
Dislike them as I do however, they do serve to illustrate an important point with regard to the individual job descriptions on your cv; they need to have the good bits at the top. You see each job on your cv has to be described in detail; the dates and job title are obviously a must , and perhaps some brief information about your employer or department. This is all before you have even started describing the duties of the role, and more importantly your achievements. And it’s these latter points that are critical to get right if you are to catch the eye of an employer. Each role may have 3,4,5,,,,,,7,8 bullet points or more about the job itself. But not all of them are of interest to the reader. They are recruiting for a particular role, and they are therefore looking for particular experience or achievements. But they aren’t going to look that hard; just the top 2 points maybe on each role. So, make sure the most relevant bits for the role you are applying for; the best bits, are at the top of each role you describe, not lurking unnoticed at the bottom. Because the person reading your cv may be like me with cappuccinos and know the best bits are at the top, and not bother with the rest. Now where’s that coffee maker…?
NB Apologies to the good people of Manchester, but Deansgate versus Via Manzoni? You know you’d prefer to window shop over there!
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
About the Author – Julian Evans
Julian Evans is a successful freelance trainer specialising in all aspects of the recruitment industry. He works in the UK and Europe and is currently writing a book entitled “Successful Recruitment Consultancy”, to be published in 2013.
Bookmark this on Delicious
