Karalyn Brown, owner of InterviewIQ, has over 10 years experience in public and private sector recruitment. She gets a real buzz out of seeing people succeed.

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Quick clicks

Q  What is a resume?
Q  Should I tailor my
    resume?
Q  How long should it be?
Q  Achievements vs
    responsibilities
Q  Presentation,
    punctuation and
    grammar
Q  Photo or no photo?
Q  Should I use a
    professional?
Q  Who runs Interview IQ?

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Successful CV Tips

If you’ve landed on this page you’re not alone. You’ll be amongst thousands right now looking for some hints on putting together a professional resume. While there are templates you can download, heaps of online advice and professionals with various levels of expertise touting their services, putting together an effective resume still seems to be something most people struggle with.

So here's some resume tips from InterviewIQ. We provide expert resume writing and interview coaching services to help you win your next interview.

What is a resume?

This question is top of the list because most people don’t understand this. The first and important thing to remember is that your resume should never just be a chronological listing of your skills and experience. It should be a marketing document, a compelling reason to interview you. And like every invitation it should be concise, easy to read and have all that is good about you prominently displayed.

Should I tailor my resume?

While I’d never recommend fudging the facts, before you start you’ll need to have a think about the positions you’ll be applying for and the skills and strengths you can present to your future employer. Tailor your communication around that. Have your achievements and responsibilities that relate to the role featuring high on your resume and state your career objective clearly at the top.

How long should it be?

That’s the long debated question. There is some research out there, un-sourced from my part, that recruiters will only spend 20 – 30 seconds looking at a resume. Reflecting on my recruitment experience this does ring partly true, particularly if recruiters see hundreds. While some recruiters do spend longer reading, a safe rule of thumb is that they will make a decision within 30 seconds about whether they’ll read further.

What then should such quick scrutiny mean for you? Go back to my point about the purpose of resume.

Achievements vs Responsibilities

Many people confuse these. Achievements are activities that have had a measurable or implied benefit to the business. Responsibilities are activities you were accountable for. Use action words as responsibilities and the active voice rather than the passive. Be succinct and state simply what you did. Deliberate fudging and fluffiness are annoying and easy to spot.

Presentation, punctuation and grammar

All need to be perfect. It’s your first impression. For it not to be a final one, re-read point one.

Photo or no photo?

This one needs to be your call. Some experts say it personalises you. I never saw many as a recruiter so if you have one it will certainly make you stand out. If you do decide to present your photo, make sure it’s a good one. Two rules to apply here. Ask someone you trust for their opinion on the photo and dress appropriately for the role.

Should I use a professional?

Saying yes here smells of self interest since I offer my expertise in this area, however after years in recruitment, I’ll confidently say yes to this one. As a recruiter a well written CV makes who to bring into interview so much easier if it's obvious and clear why they should be there. And as I said before, someone else can identify skills you can’t see. They’ll also know where you stand in comparison to the rest of the market.

If you chose a professional I strongly recommend finding someone who will actually speak to you, or even better, sit down face to face. Why this? Apart from being more efficient all around, your resume needs to reflect your personality as well. The best way to understand you is by having a personal getting to know all about you chat.

Who runs Interview IQ
                                                                     
Karalyn Interview IQ is owned and run by Karalyn Brown.

Karalyn has over 10 years experience as a recruitment consultant and HR professional, which means she knows exactly what both parties are looking for.

She's coached at all levels within the public and private sector. Her clients include Accountants, Nurses, Marketers, Train Drivers, Ophthalmologists, Dermatologists,  Public Affairs Managers, Graduates, Project Managers, IT Specialists, Teachers, Lawyers, Journalists, Salespeople, Builders,  Aborists, PAs and EAs. 

Karalyn has used all the recruitment tools including behavioural interviews, assessment centres, role plays, aptitude testing, psychometric profiling and reference checking. If your interviewer is serious about hiring the best staff, you’ll be facing at least one of these in your search for a new role.

Karalyn regularly appears on abc radio on Tony Delroy's nightlife. She has been quoted as interview expert in CareerOne and written extensively on the recruitment industry for Recruitment Extra. She's been commissioned to write on a variety people topics for The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Human Resources Magazine and Management Today. Karalyn's also offered career advice as "Ask Kate" on CareerOne and her job searching tips feature on the employment website www.byron.com.au. You can also join her resume group on Facebook: Last night my CV saved my life

Karalyn keeps her interview skills sharp by regularly sitting on interview panels for the public sector and recruiting staff for her own clients.

But by far the most important thing to know about Karalyn, is that she's been a candidate as well. So she’s well aware of what you’re going through right now.