Return-to-work CV Tips and Ideas

Last month we hosted a free webinar for our Network members on how to create an effective CV for your job search. We offered many tips and insights about what recruiters look for and addressed questions such as how to present your career break, whether to write a functional CV rather than a chronological one and how to take advantage of open questions in job applications. We have collected the key insights in this post, for those of you who missed the webinar.

How should I structure my CV?

Recruiters will expect to see three key sections:

• Profile / Executive Summary: this describes your background, expertise and role you are seeking in 2 -3 sentences
• Key Skills: list your 5 or so key skills, with brief evidence. Avoid generic skills like team player, leader, highly organised. Use specific skills such as strategic planning & implementation, procurement, digital media marketing
• Professional Experience in reverse chronological order: state your achievements and contribution, not a role description. If you have a long career history, it's fine just to list early career role titles.

Following these sections include your Education & Professional Development, Memberships and other skills/activities (fluent languages, interests etc). Keep your CV to two pages in length.

Avoid functional CVs - recruiters don't like them because they make it hard to piece together your employment history.

What should I include/exclude?

When deciding the content, think about the business case you are making:

• Why should they hire you?
• What expertise will you bring?
• What sets you apart from other candidates?

How do I describe my career break?

• Don't try to hide it, particularly if you are applying for returner programmes where having a key break is one of the eligibility criteria
• Call it a planned career break
• Include any work (paid or voluntary) and training you have done which is relevant to the role you are seeking
• You can include a reason for your break (e.g. parental career break; career break for caring responsibilities) but you don't have to

How do I answer the 'tell us about you' question on online application forms?

This question gives you the opportunity to do more than just repeat what is in your profile statement. You can use it in two ways:

• to highlight aspects of your skills and your expertise that are relevant to the role you're applying for, to encourage the recruiter to look in detail at your CV
• to express your motivation for and interest in the role which you don't otherwise have the chance to do

One final tip
As 97% of recruiters will reject a CV with 2 or more typos, take plenty of time to check your CV carefully and get others to read it through with a fresh eye, to spot errors you might have missed.

For more advice on CVs check our previous posts:
How to write your post break CV
The 'CV gap' barrier: evidence it exists & how to get over it
What about the gap in my CV?


Posted by Katerina