Job hunting is hard - it can be a full-time job in itself! If you’re already working, or are busy with other commitments, you really don’t have much time to waste. With the job market being flooded with candidates at the moment, it's imperative to make sure that you are the one that stands out and is remembered.

We've put together a few simple tips to make sure your CV is working the best it can and gets noticed by the right people. 

1. Do your research

Before you start job hunting, research the roles you are interested in, read their job descriptions and person specifications. Identify recruitment agencies specialising in your sector and try to target recruiters to talk to – yes, talk to on the phone. Make friends with your recruiter and stay in touch. What are you hoping to achieve? What roles are you looking for? Write a clear objective for yourself and set time aside during the week to focus on the process.

2. Write a personal statement

Open your CV with a strong statement talking about Brand You. How many years’ experience do you have? Are you a graduate? What’s your background? Keep it short, no more than two sentences and make sure you fill it with keywords (more on those later). You might be a hardworking team player, but so is everyone in the job market - this is your chance to make you stand out, so make it unique and personal.

3. List your achievements

The best advice I’ve received from a recruiter was to completely rearrange my CV. Put your education at the bottom and start your CV with the important things. What are your three key achievements? Don’t just focus on work related achievements – got a blog, written for Brighton Girl, run a marathon or learnt a new language? Say it loud and say it proud.

4. Fill your CV with keywords

Remember that research you did at the beginning? When you’re combing job descriptions, look for the type of language they are using and imitate it. Make sure you use active keywords such as manage, pro-active, innovative, planned, implemented and achieved. Words to avoid? Anything passive, cliched and overused such as multi-tasker, flexible, goal driven and motivated.

Top tip: At the bottom of your CV, list as many keywords as possible, then put them into white font. When recruiters search for keywords through their databases, bingo! Up pops your CV.

5. Update your LinkedIn profile

Once your CV is up to scratch, make sure your LinkedIn profile matches it. Update your strapline to a shortened version of your personal statement and make sure to use the keywords. Ask colleagues for recommendations – they can be old colleagues if your current ones don’t know you’re job hunting, personal recommendations go a long way. Get people to endorse your skills and then connect with the recruiters that you identified earlier. Find relevant discussions and groups, join them and make your voice heard. Get Brand You out there, and make sure people notice.

Written by Jenny.