Lately, I run over a career conversation on the web about what a “perfect CV” in 2022 should look like. And templates were offered and advice was given in regard to “Keywords” and a lot of other stuff. Everything was like getting “behind” that AI wall that filters incoming CVs.
I´m pretty sure HR people have busy times at the moment. They have a lot of time to invest to search for the best match for an open position, BUT letting a machine filter out applications that don´t “match” certain requirements? That´s too easy. Not too easy but in my point of view a mistake…especially in 2022 and beyond. We live in the “new work” era. Home and Place of work don´t have to match any longer. Esp. in regards to “Office-Jobs” we live in times where you can fully remotely do the job. No problem…a Notebook and a VPN connection and you are good to go. So it´s no wonder that job offers can drop in from locations that you didn´t consider in the past. Either way, there is no better time than now to apply for jobs that are in different countries without packing your stuff and calling the moving company.
A CV today is in my point of view much more than information about your working experience. It´s your card. The single piece of content that you can throw into the ring for seeking a job next to your XING or Linkedin profile. The LEAST thing you should do in my point of view is to stick to some optimized “Standard”-Form because Linkedin already has a CV-to-PDF function that is perfectly machine readable. No, your CV has to be special…outstanding…next to the experience you provide your CV. It should show a glimpse of your personality. It is common sense to know that soft skills can have a major impact on your team setting, something that the hard facts can not compensate if they are missing. You can either write them down but a CV can transport that as well.
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When I set up my CV, I had an idea, a vision of how it should look like and I put myself on a challenge. I could have set up my CV in InDesign or Quark or Scribus or any other DTP tool to create an “on pixel” perfectly looking CV…but I choose Google Docs. And I choose it because I want to see how much “creativity” I can get into this “MS-Word” clone with limited functionality when it comes to designing something. In addition, I wanted to have it accessible from any place on earth as long as I have an internet connection and a smartphone. So it has to be reduced, only typography, only black and white was the goal…and at the end a gimmick. In my point of view, I am happy with the outcome. And that´s what I present…clean… straightforward…but still with a “touch” of style. And these are the things that I look at if I get a CV to read. Of course, the skills have to match, but if you are in the agency business creativity is a thing no matter if you apply for a project management position and (of course even more) if you apply for a creative job.
As I said, if you focus on your experience then put your energy into optimizing your Linkedin profile because in the end you just have to press the “export to PDF” button and you are good. But there is a reason why you get asked by HR people or Headhunters to provide them with your CV, otherwise, they could just press that same button on Linkedin…because they want to see that “piece of personality” that may or may not takes you to the interview. Think about that. As always, just a thought, ya all have a good day! Happy to discuss!
