How to Create a Contractor CV that Stands Out from the Crowd

When you’ve only got one piece of A4 to sell yourself to a potential employer, be sure to make it count.  

If you have time to spare and want to ensure your CV is as good as possible - with all the keywords in the right place - then watch this excellent presentation put together for us by The CV & Interview Advisors. It will be time well spent. 

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For contractors, many of whom regularly have to sell their services to new clients, it is imperative that a CV is as good as it possibly can be. After all, having great skills and experience counts for nothing if the CV doesn’t do them justice. 

So here are some top tips on how to create a stand out contractor CV. 

Specific for Contracting

Contractor CVs must be just that – CVs specific for contracting.

It is easy to get lured into creating a traditional CV for permanent employment, in which you talk about your personality, strengths, qualifications and experience in depth, but that is not what a contractor should be doing.

Any client hiring a contractor wants a specific job doing. What’s more, they want that job to be done right from day one. A contractor CV must reflect this.

So, first and foremost, cut straight to the point. You must focus your CV on skills, experience and industry knowledge. A contractor needs to show a potential employer that they are proficient in the required skills and have experience in providing this service for other businesses.

Furthermore, when presenting this information, keep the language as clear and simple as possible. 

Using jargon will either confuse the client or make the CV appear clichéd, both of which can seriously hinder your chance of success.

Keep it Focused

The next tip is to avoid ‘waffle’. You might have achieved a lot in your life, but your CV doesn’t need to list it all. To make a contractor CV stand out, it must remain short and focused.

There is no exact length, but two pages is usually a good target to keep in mind as an upper limit. The more experienced a contractor is, the harder it will be to condense the information down, but cherry picking the most recent or relevant pieces of experience along with the key skills that fit that particular role will help prevent a CV from becoming too long.

Furthermore, as well as updating it to reflect new experience, contractors must also be willing to regularly adapt their CV to ensure it is suitably focused on the opportunity at hand. Each client might want something different, so a single CV will not always fit the bill; tweak it for individual applications so you are emphasizing the information that is the most relevant.

What to Include

So, we’ve talked about focusing your CV around the relevant skills and experience. But what else should you include?

Firstly, when it comes to your personal information, you don’t need to worry about things like age or marital status; just your name and contact information will do.

Then will come a summary of your skills and experience, which will be at the heart of the CV. But keep it relevant and succinct – a client will likely not be interested in a summer job from when you were 17, or jobs from 25 years ago, so list past jobs starting with the most recent and only go back as far as is relevant.

Education and past qualifications can also be included, but unlike on a CV for a permanent position, these are less important so it is best to put this information below the skills and experience.

Things to Avoid

Of course, when creating a CV of any description there are some things that should be avoided at all costs.

Top of the list is lazy spelling and grammatical errors – this will immediately put the client off. Other things like inconsistent formatting, a messy layout or including an unprofessional photo can also give a poor first impression, so make sure your contractor CV looks clean, professional and is error-free.

Also be sure to leave out irrelevant personal information. While there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of personality to a CV, make sure it remains interesting and on point.

Expert Help

Creating a single document that can determine one’s professional success is a daunting task. And with something that matters so much, it is often wise to call upon some expert help. 

If you head over to The CV & interview Advisors you will get a discount as a user of Only Contract Jobs.