How to Bulk Up Your CV to Impress Future Employers
Your CV is the first thing that recruitment agents and employers will see when you are applying for a vacancy that you’re really interested in. This means that you need it to do a lot of the work of impressing these people so that you can get your foot in the door for an interview and have a chance to impress them face-to-face!
If you are someone who is new to the workforce, for example you are just starting out looking for work after university or school, or you are starting out in a second career, then you may find it hard to make your CV feel like it has enough valid experience on it to really convey what you could bring to the job you are applying for. This is why it can be a good idea to take part in things that can help you bulk out your CV with interesting and impressive experiences.
Here are four examples of things you can do to bulk up your CV and show that you are someone with interesting skills and work experience.
Voluntary Work
If you would like to have more work to put on your CV but of course, need to use the CV to get the work in the first place, it can feel like a bit of a Catch-22, however, taking on voluntary work that you can put on your CV can give you a good way to build up work experience that you can reference without having to get a paid job to do it. There are all kinds of things you can do on a voluntary basis, from working with charities for the homeless through to planting trees and doing other environmental work, so it can be easy to match your voluntary work to your personal interests and also to the industry you would like to ultimately work in.
Temping
Another good way to get experience you can use on your CV is to work as a temp for a little while. This can allow you to find work where you can use your skills with real employers for real pay, and quickly ramp up the number of companies you have experience with. You can do a lot of different types of work as a temp, for example you can try hospitality work such as the waitressing jobs from Staff Heroes, or you can work in manufacturing, or office administration. Whatever you do, it will be genuine work experience that you can talk about on your CV and show how it made you a better candidate.
Outside Interests
Employers are not only interested in what you’ve done when it comes to work but also in terms of the skills you might have built up outside of your professional life. People who can show outside interests that demonstrate skills, for example people who play team sports, people who use their free time to write stories or run their own website and people who look after animals can demonstrate from their hobbies some experience that may be relevant to a job.
Online Learning
Another thing that can look good on your CV is if you spend some of your spare time furthering your education or learning new skills. Showing that you have done some online courses or are in the process of doing something like learning a foreign language online can not only impress an employer but also help you stand out from other people with similar work backgrounds as someone who is interested in self-improvement and has goals and ambitions.
All of these things can be good ways to find extra things you can put on your CV. Combine them with your work and school experience to help you show yourself in the best light. when recruiters and employers are shortlisting for vacancies, you’ll likely stand out over the competition.