Your CV is Alive

Everyone wants to make the best impression with their application, wants to attract attention and ivoke curiosity. The application is the first step towards a personal interview. That is why it is so essential. Part of the application - and probably the most important - is the Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (CV). 

Here's a question for you: When do you normally update your CV?

 If you’re like most people, your answer was something along the lines of “Whenever I’m applying for a new job.”

While you definitely want to fine-tune your résumé before applying for a new position, it’s actually beneficial to update your resume on a continual basis – whether you’re looking for a new job or not.

The Curriculum Vitae Is Not Dead

In many people's minds, there is still the opinion that the résumé is a representation of unchangeable facts and must therefore be created once and attached to every application unchanged. Hence, it is not surprising that many people think that the CV is dead. It is sheer a historical artifact.

The CV or résumé is a rigid representation of where you have been in your life. What is interesting is what you have done, what you have achieved, what makes you relevant for your desired employer. 

Therefore we all should develop the CV further. It's part of the application, not the application itself. Today it's much more about standing out from the crowd. Your application must be relevant for the recruiter and for the department. Don't just tell where you were, tell what you did and what you’re currently doing. Tell a story!

A Convincing Application

A really convincing application is not rocket science. But in everyday life, I see so many avoidable mistakes. Applications that, including attachments, easily exceed the 10 MB limit, cover letters to another company or salutations to unknown ladies or gentlemen. Or a complete lack of reference to the company and/or the advertised position. 

Tell a story with your application: Recruiters want to know more about you than when you were where. Storytelling is a very popular method anyway. Why are you relevant? How do you differentiate yourself from others? Why should you be offered the job? You can expect the same from company representatives. 

Your CV is a Living and Breathing Document

Here are some aspects of why you should update your CV regularly: 

1. Maintaining Accuracy

You’ve undoubtedly accomplished a lot since the last time you updated your CV. Do you really think you can remember everything you’ve done – and are able to report your accomplishments with 100% accuracy? 

You want to be able to point back to specific achievements and accomplishments in your professional life – and you also want to avoid making undocumented claims. By updating your CV as you accomplish these goals, you won’t have to worry about digging back months (and sometimes years) into your history to recall certain events correctly.

2. Staying Organised And Prepared

In addition to that, it allows you to focus more on the organisation of the document itself – rather than the contents therein. While you don’t necessarily need to make your CV completely presentable every single time you update it, you want to be sure to insert specific information in the appropriate section. 

This way, when the time does come for you to send in your résumé to a prospective employer, you’ll have all your information right in front of you and will simply need to focus on organising it properly.

3. Knowing When To Move On

If you make it a habit to continually update your CV from time to time – regardless of the need for a change – this might actually help you realise you’re ready for a change in the first place. Too often, we don’t realise how much we’ve accomplished – and how much we’re capable of – until we truly take the time to analyse our lives. Unfortunately, this can cause us to hold ourselves back from attaining our true potential. 

By committing to updating your CV on a more frequent basis, you’ll give yourself more time to think about everything you’ve done in life – and realise how much more you can achieve. And, by keeping your publicly-visible online résumé up to date, you increase the chances of you getting noticed by other potential employers who could open up new opportunities for you.

Written by: Lisa Janz

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