CV Writing Secrets To Get That Much Needed Chance

By Angela Wahome,
Getting your CV attention from the Human Resource Manager, with all the competition in the Job market nowadays can take some extra effort. There are several basics that we have already covered about the CV and Cover Letter and we need to see what else besides the basic information that you place well on your CV that you can include for this purpose.
As you put together your document try to find out some of the key words that recruiters expect to find on your CV. Recruiters always look for specific keywords in these categories; technical expertise, management skills, industry know-how, education and training, where he or she lives and finally work history. If you are in sales there are several words that recruiters will habitually look for such as; report writing, prospecting, follow-up, presenting, negotiating, events, proposal writing, tenders, cold-calling and sourcing.
It is therefore important that you know what the key words are, as well as where you may find them. First you may begin by looking at keywords of a job advertised similar to the one you are in. If it is well written, you will be able to gather some of the key words to start with. Then look for job advertisements that are for positions you wish to apply for and write down the key words in those advertisements.
Once you have these key words you have the advantage. This is because can now weave them into your statements as you explain the duties that you performed in the job you work at. Job advertisements are a great place to find these key words, therefore I would advise that you need to take full advantage of them.
You may chose to take the information a step further depending on your industry. If for instance, you are Sales Manager, you may use the same key words but at the level at which you operate. Which may be; contract negotiation, attending the opening of tenders, preparing and hosting seminars, maintaining an open door policy to ensure staff are able to seek support and guidance. Engaging the staff in weekly meetings that help the sales team remain focused, allows us to identify and tackle challenges such as countering competitors actions in the market.
Here is a sample of the CV:
Objective: A Sales and Marketing Manager  in the ICT industry.
Job Profile: Ranked Salesman of the Year for three years running. Know for the ability to quickly adopt to new software products knowledge and sell them appropriately to clients. Able to do Business Development as well as build and maintain a wide client base including; corporates, SME’s, NGO’s and government. Highly skilled in Computer Applications usage including and software demonstration/installation and trouble shooting.
Since a CV is not supposed to be a static document but an ongoing one it is important that you review it at least every 3 months to make sure that it has accurate information on it.