When you are applying for jobs, one of the most important things you can do is highlight your experience on your CV. This might feel very uncomfortable – it’s hard to look at your career objectively and talk about all of the things you have achieved.
We completely understand – and we’re here to help!
By following a few key steps, you will be able to effectively highlight experience on a CV. Keep reading to find out more!
Use bullet points
The first thing you need to do to highlight experience on a CV is to make sure it is displayed in a way that is immediately eye-catching.
Rather than discuss your experience, qualifications, and achievements in long paragraphs where the important detail can get lost, we recommend that you use bullet points.
With your employment history, here is our suggested layout:
- State your position, the name of the company, and the dates you worked there
- Include a brief sentence that summarises the role you performed there
- Pick out a couple of key achievements and include them as short bullet points
Hopefully, you can see how eye-catching bullet points can be! This is the best way to highlight experience on a CV effectively.
Keep it relevant to the position
Start by studying the job description in detail. Write down a list of the key responsibilities that come with the position and the skills the employer is looking for. Then, jot down any specific examples of your own experience you can think of that are relevant.
For example, if one of the key responsibilities is “Diary management”, think about any experience you have completing this task, and at what level.
Use action words, for example, “delivered”, “negotiated”, or “completed” to help show your role in an achievement.
If your previous employer won an award that you contributed to – or you won an award yourself – this should be included on your CV.
This means you will probably need slightly different versions of your CV for each particular position you are applying for, to keep each one as relevant as possible for the job in question. We know this might sound like a lot of work, but it is the best way to give yourself the best chance of moving forward to the next stage of the application process.
Don’t be vague
To stand out from other applicants, ensure that the examples of your experience are specific. Where you can, use facts, figures, and timescales to show the impact that your work had. These will immediately stand out to employers as they will be able to see the impact you could have on their company.
Some examples of specific and relevant examples of your experience will vary depending on the position you are applying for, but could look something like this:
- Increased marketing ROI (Return on Investment) by 20% in 6 months
- Cut department expenditure by 33% over an 18-month period
- Improved staff productivity by 9% YOY (Year on Year)
So, think about the kind of examples you could give on your own CV.
Ask for help
If you’ve been working on your CV for a while, you might start questioning the information you’re including. The best thing to do here is take a step back and get an objective perspective.
Give your CV to someone you trust – a family member, your partner, or even someone in your industry. Ask them to read it over and be honest about the examples of your experience you have included, and how well they demonstrate your suitability for the position.
This will help you see if the right information is shining through and will give you ideas for where improvements can be made if they are needed.
Have confidence!
Finally, we know that you might not enjoy writing about yourself in this way. But you need to have confidence in yourself!
You have achieved incredible things throughout your career, and thinking about your experience in this way can remind you of all the contributions you’ve made that you might have forgotten about.
Employers will want a positive and confident addition to their team. You should feel good about all of the experience you’ve collected over time, and what you have learned from it!
We hope that this blog has helped you understand the best ways to highlight experience on a CV. Ultimately, the more specific the examples you can give that directly relate to the job description, the greater chance you have of catching a recruiter’s attention and getting invited to an interview.
If you’re struggling to pick out your key accomplishments, we would love to help. Send us your existing CV, and through our Free CV Review, we will identify where improvements could be made and where your achievements could be better illustrated.