Findability Factors for your CV
You have heeded all the advice on CV content and format. You have uploaded your CV to the top job boards. You are waiting to be found.
Increase the chances that your CV will be found by recruiters looking for your skills and experience by learning about how online job sites function and what you can do to increase your chances of being called for an interview.
Key Words
The recruiter will search for a candidate by entering keywords and phrases into the search engine. Be sure that you have included many of the important words and phrases that appear in the target job advertisement and other job advertisements for the same type of job. Include words and their synonyms that are relevant to your experience and achievements, as well as well-known industry-specific jargon or terminology.
Increasing the number of keywords is a time-intensive endeavor. However, if enough of their search words match those found in your CV, your CV will be flagged for further investigation, and if you are truly qualified, then you will be called for an interview.
CV Length
If all these keywords and phrases do not fit conveniently on two A4 sheets, do not despair. Online submissions will rarely be printed, so a wordier version of your CV could be appropriate. Check the word or character limits prior to submitting. Keep within those limits in order to provide the amount of information that the recruiter needs in order to find you.
CV File Type
Consider creating a CV especially for online submission – not just in terms of content, but also in terms of file type. A plain text file (.txt) that is clearly formatted with appropriate section titles, such as Summary, Experience, and Education, will be parsed more successfully when the recruiter retrieves it during a search.
The stereotypical recruiter who gives a 30-second glance to your CV written on an A4 sheet of paper, or even as a Word document file, is becoming a rarity. As technologies improve, it is becoming more important that your electronic content (CV) ranks high in the recruiter’s search.
