How should candidates describe their responsibilities in their CVs?
The description of your responsibilities in each job should include:
- 5-8 key responsibilities listed in the order of importance (from most important to least important).
- The company's clients and partners
- The size of the team that you managed
How to disclose your achievements in a credible way without being accused of sharing confidential information of your former employer?
Focus on facts and numbers. Your responsibilities should be followed by:
A list of clients that you have acquired, won back or improved cooperation with.
A list of contracts and projects that you have executed followed by an explanation of how they translated into improving the company's position in the market, etc.
Use percentages as much as possible, e.g.: "increased quarterly sales by 20%, lowered employee turnaround by 5%."
List only those achievements that you are especially proud of and which had the biggest impact on the organization. You should also remember that those achievements will be verified during the interview. Therefore, you should come well prepared.
How to write a CV when you have a lot of professional experience?
First of all, read up on the company and the job that you are applying for.
Your CV should be based around the information provided in the ad. If you are applying for the position of sales director, your CV should include relevant responsibilities (the size of teams, budgets, etc.) and competencies (team motivation trainings, etc.) from your previous jobs.
Include all of your professional experience in the CV (even the jobs that did not fit your career path). Otherwise, recruiters may think that you had a lot of gaps in your career history which in most cases will lead to your application being rejected. Also, remember that you do not have to provide details of the jobs that have no relevance for the job that you are applying for. Focus on the jobs that are relevant and describe you responsibilities and achievements in detail.
When applying for senior positions you should remember that recruiters will most likely ask your colleagues for proof of your competencies. Therefore, prepare a list of references. These should include people that you have worked with in the last 2-3 organizations. Your references should include:
- people that you have reported to (at least 2)
- people that you have supervised (at least 2)
- clients that you have worked with (at least 2)
