Words you should use on your CV to make it stand out
South African job seekers should put certain keywords in their CVs to get the attention of employers.
Financial services firm PwC said that it expects only 200,000 jobs to be added to the economy in 2023, with the company revising its economic growth forecasts for 2023 to a baseline scenario of 1.6% in 2023 and an upside scenario of 2.0%.
PwC added that the slow economic growth does not meet the rising population and workforce, leading to a downward trend in the unemployment rate.
Jobseekers thus have the tricky task of making their CV stand out amongst the competition.
Despite many believing that experience outweighs the actual text found on the CV, employers will often read through CVs to find indicators that the candidate is correct for the position. If not, they may disregard the application.
Glassdoor has compiled a list of keywords and ideas that should be put on a CV.
What your CV should say
Starting off, a CV should always contain numbers. Instead of a jobseeker simply saying that they were excellent at their job, they should provide data that proves this.
Moreover, action words that show leadership capabilities should be included in a CV, such as ‘redesign’, as it shows hirers that the job seeker can see the big picture.
Cliches should be avoided, and powerful, simple words – including ‘launched’ – should be adopted as they have a greater impact.
Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, a master CV writer, said that words like ‘modernised’ are “like a switch, powering up the candidate’s story, showing how they’ve improved, envisioned and transformed their work environments.”
In addition, a candidate should avoid saying they are hard-working and instead focus on showing what specific value they can add to a business.
CVs should also contain a storytelling aspect that makes them stand out while still showing a candidate’s qualifications. For instance, instead of saying ‘led’ a team, job seekers should say ‘orchestrated.’
Candidates should also get specific to ensure that there is no miscommunication with the hirer.
Furthermore, words that show a candidate came up and followed through with an idea – such as ‘create’, ‘led’, and ‘managed’ – are far better than words that show someone just executed a pre-conceived plan, reported Glassdoor.
Candidates should also include examples in their CVs. For instance, showing that they are team players by onboarding new hires.
The CV must also be skimmable, as hirers do not meticulously read through every CV they receive.
Candidates should also use confident language. For example, ‘helped’ should be replaced with ‘spearheaded‘, as it shows the candidate as a leader.
Hirers can also gauge the aptitude and readiness of a candidate via their CV, so using words like ‘committed‘ shows hirers a candidate’s management skills.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, CVs must be expertly edited. Candidates should not simply read through their CVs, but pay attention to their exact word choices, as there is limited space on a CV. The best way for candidates to ensure that their word choice is correct is to read it aloud.
These simple tasks could help South Africans in their search for employment in a limited market.
Read: What employees want from their workplace
