What Should You Do Before You Write Your CV?

The internet is full of advice on how to write a CV. Much of it focusing on how to use the content to tell your career story and indicate your suitability for various roles. Most of the advice centres around the immediate task of writing. Sitting down to write should be a culmination of a thought process that began many weeks earlier. That period before you write your CV can determine the success of your search.

Your CV reflects your mindset at the time of writing. This mindset will have solidified over a long period of self-examination and soul searching. How much thought you put into what you want out of your next career move will dictate how confident you will be in your job search decision making.

Every word that you include in your CV is an individual decision.

Do you want to sit down to write your CV with a blank Word document when you haven’t worked out what is truly important to you?

Too many people do this. They crave the security of a job as soon as possible. That is understandable, but it is flawed. They rush out their CV, apply to the few available roles, and naturally get a swift job offer. But is it really the job that they want and need? They can’t be sure, but 80% of them won’t feel able to turn it down.

Because they didn’t take the time for deeper reflection before they rushed out their CV.

Please, take as long as you need to get some clarity.

A week, maybe more…. Don’t start writing your CV until you have toyed with the possibilities, rejected ideas, accepted ideas and then dismissed them again. You cannot afford to be writing such a critical life document with uncertainty clouding the clarity of your messaging. Sure, you may have multiple options, but are you truly clear about precisely what each one means to you and why they are essential?

3 things before you write a CV

…. Work out what career contentment means to you. Explore the unknowns.

…. Think everything through until you have replayed every key scenario.

…. Talk to your loved ones, friends and ex-colleagues to get a different perspective.

There is no set game plan for this process. Everyone is different. One thing is true for everyone. Until you have devoted enough time to this period of reflection (and slept on it a good few times), you will not be ready to tell the right stories in the right way on your CV.

Poor decisions are often made in haste.

Deliberate over every word in your CV. You never know which one of them may prove decisive in setting off a light bulb in a future employer’s head: “wow, we need to get this person in for an interview.” Every word matters.

You will only find the right words (for you) if you let them bounce around in your head first.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).