02 de November de 2018
José Jiménez and Pilar Llácer led a webinar on employability entitled "Maximizing your chances of moving forward in a selection process through your CV". In the session, the two human resources experts emphasized the importance of the curriculum vitae in selection processes and discussed how it can successfully be adapted to each job offer.
The founder of the blog Orientación para el empleo (Orientation for Employment), José Jiménez is also a CV writer and expert in personnel selection. In José's opinion, the CV is still a valid tool for searching for employment, to be "complemented by social media". Despite the advances in new technologies, social media have not yet replaced what José considers the model of success: "a carefully designed CV adapted to the profile and needs of the selection company".
Before preparing your CV, you need to carry out a prior analysis of what the market is demanding, the profiles in the highest demand and the salaries that they offer. It is also important to choose the companies that you would like to work for and set priorities. With all this information, the human resources expert recommends drafting different types of CV depending on the profile that we want to put forward in each case.
To ensure you have a top CV, José Jiménez emphasized aspects such as the 6-second rule (the time it takes a recruiter to scan it), the importance of keywords, the design and sections of the CV and ways of sending it. "The CV is like a heat map, similar to how we read on the internet, in the shape of an F, placing particular attention on the photo". In addition, José recommends focusing on the keywords to ensure that they meet the recruiter's expectations".
The sections of the CV, the importance of the photo, the title, the subtitle and the layout of the rest of the elements were the areas analysed in the webinar. Pilar Llácer and José Jiménez agree that a professional photograph should be used on the CV. "The photo has to be something that identifies and represents you", explained Pilar, as well as recommending that we change our image LinkedIn fairly regularly. She also advised against including details such as our date of birth, using acronyms or phrases such as "looking for employment", because "it is a matter of making the recruiter fall in love with you, so don't reveal information that may make them discriminate against you with respect to another candidate".
The professional profile of the CV is one of the most important sections. It should give an overall and integrated summary of the information with the aim of grabbing the recruiter's attention. Elements such as your years of experience, career history, responsibilities, qualifications, sector, specialization and competences should be highlighted in this section, which is "the part that makes an impact and attracts" explained Pilar. She also recommends "using a bit of creativity when it comes to listing your competences".
The webinar was illustrated using several examples that the human resource experts used to clarify. Pilar and José agree that it is important to adapt your CV to the offer, ensuring that it is "always a living document". Graphics, icons, colours, tables and other graphic resources can be included on this life summary in order to grab the recruiters' attention, but never at the cost of consistency, legibility and clarity.
With respect to sending your CV, the founder of the blog Orientación para el empleo recommends sending a PDF, with the best days being Tuesday to Thursday between 11:00 and 12:00 in the morning. Pilar Llácer emphasized the importance of listing your professional experience, starting with the most recent and using marketing-style language to help to sell your CV. Focusing in more junior profile, Pilar advised them "not to rule out experiences that you do not consider relevant. Highlight anything that could add value and set you apart".
The automation of selection processes and the use of keyword-based social media will not mean the end of CVs, the quintessential recruitment tool. José Jiménez explained that "the CV gives recruiters a great deal of really useful information about the candidates' personality and professional profile". In Pilar Llácer's opinion, "CVs need to be perfect", adding that the tips given in the webinar are also valid for professional profiles on LinkedIn.
Check out the full webinar on "Maximizing your chances of moving forward in a selection process through your CV" at the following link.