Recruitment Assistant by weekday, actor by the weekend. My double life is akin to Batman, except instead of a cool suit I sport vintage dresses, and the Piccadilly line replaces the Batmobile (just as sexy). As an actor I have spent oodles of money over the years on headshots to capture my best angles, in the hope I will catch the attention of a casting director swiping across Spotlight like your mate on Hinge.
Working in the vibrant Impact office with brilliant recruiters, I see many CVs in all shapes and sizes. Your CV is your headshot – it needs to capture your uniqueness and subsequently, our interest quickly.
What I have discovered is that there is no perfect resume formula, but there are particular aspects that can make yours as exciting as cracking open a box of Celebrations (gimme!). We encourage everyone to put their best foot forward so you can achieve your dream role, and it all starts with that killer PDF.
1) The profile is the first thing we see and we ALWAYS read it! This allows us to get to know you and where you can really sell yourself.
2) It’s important your employment history is clear, concise and to the point. Do your best not to write several paragraphs summarising your previous jobs, instead make a few bullet points outlining your key responsibilities, skills learned, and achievements.
3) On that note, make a separate list outlining your skills e.g. Premier Pro, Excel, C-Suite, administration, interpersonal, communication. Don’t be modest! We want to know how we can find the perfect job that aligns with your skillset.
4) Don’t leave your interests just on your dating profile, we want to know all about you too! If you spend weekends getting lost in the Tate Museum, love jogging, or have your own podcast, share it with us.
5) Aesthetic, baby! You’ve written some snazzy copy to grab our interest, now you can decide how you want it to pop visually. Canva is a great tool that is much easier to navigate than Photoshop with some great resume templates. Select the template you are drawn to
and voila! It looks as though you spent hours selecting the perfect colours and shapes when really, you’ve shopped for that template like a Wednesday night on Amazon.
6) Take the photo down, we are in recruitment not casting. We look forward to meeting you face to face, but until then your employment history is just fine.
7) Always include your contact details! You’d be surprised how many people send in their resumes without any way for us to chase them up.
Thanks for stopping by the Impact blog, I hope this has been helpful. We look forward to receiving your resume, and don’t forget to read our tips on creating the perfect LinkedIn profile!