I can still remember the first time I met my wife. As men of course, we’re all supposed to say this, in case our partners fail us on some lifestyle magazine’s “Is your man good enough for you?” type quiz. No wonder there are a lot of paranoid men (and women) around with such questionnaires lurking in each publication. Now normally I can hardly remember where I put the newspaper this morning , let alone my reaction on meeting someone twenty odd years ago. But the truth is I do remember meeting her for the first time.
It wasn’t quite a fixated eyes “gazing across a crowded ballroom routine” , all white tie and tails, with “Some Enchanted Evening” soaring melodically in the background, but it was still very memorable. I can remember a group of us (of which she was one) going out for a curry and later on gate crashing a party. I am also clear about the fact that I’d finally bought a long sought after baseball jacket that very day ; the ones with different coloured sleeves to the body of the jacket and a logo tenuously connecting an American city with some wild animal. Did England beat Scotland at football that day at the old Wembley? Yep they did, and I know because I was there , though my good lady wife wasn’t (we met later that evening), and has certainly to my knowledge never attended a football match before or since.
Baseball Jackets and first encounters…They can all tell us something about the appearance of our CV’s.
But I doubt if I’d have remembered buying the jacket or the football if it wasn’t for meeting her that day. Mutual friends had arranged a get together for a group of us, and this tall brunette just appeared, very calm, very smiley, slightly self conscious……and just… well just quietly perfect. I can’t really think of other words, but “quietly perfect” seems about right. She was instantly photographed onto my memory, into my subconscious; a lasting first impression, and we’re still together all these years and three kids later. Though the baseball jacket has gone (and my hair). She’s still a gorgeous brunette of course.
Now you’re probably asking what’s all this got to do with profile boxes on cvs? Well the connection is simply that first impressions are memorable and critical, and nowhere more so than with your cv. So do yourself a favour and make your cv memorable for the right reasons. And there’s no better place to start than by putting a bullet pointed profile box at the top of the first page of your cv, with three or four points describing why you are relevant for the specific role you are applying for. It’s the first thing that will get read, and may be the only thing that gets the reader to carry on. Trust me; it’s quick, easy, and more likely to get you an interview than the rest of your cv - as easy and quick as throwing out your partners naff old baseball jacket from their singleton days…
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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.
It has been a frustrating time over the last two years for candidates seeking work and actually gaining employment. It can be soul destroying and demoralising.
Do your preparation – it is crucial that you know about the company, the role and why you want the job.
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