Published:
By Matt Craven, Founder of The CV & Interview Advisors.
You’re probably wondering what on earth shoes (and cheap red ones at that) have to do with CVs?
Well let me explain!
Let’s just say that you all of a sudden have an irresistible urge to buy a pair of cheap red shoes; you’ll probably jump online and type into your search engine of choice “buy cheap red shoes”.
Now this will bring up a whole heap of search results - some will catch your eye and some won’t.
The theory is that the advert which says “we sell shoes of all shapes, sizes and prices” is going to be less effective than the advert that says “we specialise in cheap red shoes – buy here now” or something similar!
It is more effective because it uses the words / phrase that you had in your mind when you started typing into the little Google search box i.e. buying cheap red shoes.
We can relate this exact same theory to your Contractor CV.
Imagine if you were a Recruiter who had been given a brief to find some suitable folks for an IT Infrastructure Manager role.
You will have the words ‘IT Infrastructure Manager’ ringing in your head, so when someone describes themselves as “A dynamic and highly motivated IT Professional with knowledge of the entire technology stack in various industry sectors”; what does this actually mean?
It’s just too woolly and ambiguous.
Conversely, the person who describes themselves as “An IT Infrastructure Manager, adept at delivering high performing, cost effective and resilient IT Infrastructure for global organisations” is onto a winner and will most likely persuade the reader to invest more time reading their CV.
If you have more than one string to your bow, you may need multiple CVs with a different go-to-market description each time.
Remember, there is no such thing as an effective generic / catch-all CV!!
The Cheap Red Shoes theory is so simple, but so many people get this terribly wrong and wonder why they aren’t getting any nibbles on their CV. Adopt this theory and I guarantee better success.
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