Introduction
After reading thousands of CVs and dozens of books on the subject I started to realise there are some simple and easy-to-implement strategies to make you stand out in the right way. This methodology has worked for me and the people I have worked with but it’s by no means ‘The Best’ or only strategy to use. Have a read to see if anything seems useful and most of all good luck!
You have several goals you are trying to achieve when writing your CV. These goals will be different if you expect a person, a computer or a mixture of the two to be reading it.
Before You Start: Check the Alignment
Before you spend hours tailoring your CV, turn the process around. You are interviewing them too. A job that pays well but clashes with your values will cost you more than it pays you. Do your homework on the company before you do your homework on the job spec.
Where to look
- Be a customer. If you can, go in. How are you treated? How does the team speak to each other when they think no one is watching?
- Read what the staff say, not just what the website says. Employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed tell you far more than a values statement on the wall.
- Look at how they talk about their people on social media and in their job adverts. Is the team celebrated or invisible?
- Ask your network. Hospitality is a small world. Someone you know has worked there or knows someone who has.
- Look at pay and tips. Are they a Real Living Wage employer? How are tips shared? Since October 2024 employers must pass tips on to workers in full and fairly, and have a written policy, so it is a reasonable question to ask.
- Would I be proud to tell my friends and family I work here?
- Do their stated values actually show up in how they behave?
- Can I see myself here in three years’ time?
If the answer is yes, it will show in your CV and your interview. You will write with genuine conviction, and that is very hard to fake. If the answer is no, you have saved yourself a bad fit and them a hire that won’t last. Walking away is not failure, it’s good judgement.
Stage 1: The Algorithm
If you are applying for a job online, especially if it’s for a large company, chances are it will at least be filtered by an algorithm. The algorithm is basically an electronic gatekeeper. Most systems can read a Word document or a text-based PDF. What they can’t read is an image of text: a scanned CV, a JPEG or PNG, or a picture pasted into Word. If you can’t highlight and copy the words yourself, the algorithm can’t read them either. When in doubt, send a Word document.
What is the algorithm looking for?
KEYWORDS! It only reads keywords it’s been programmed with. Most of these keywords are scraped or pulled from the job description or person specification. It’s important that you pull out the keywords from the job description and use them seamlessly in your CV. Yes, they have to be exactly the same words. Similar words that mean the same thing must be replaced with their exact words.
CVs with the greatest amount of keyword usage will progress, usually with a score, to a human. Don’t assume the algorithm is fair or neutral. These systems learn from past hiring decisions and can carry the same biases, so the best thing you can do is give it exactly what it’s looking for.
Stage 2: The Human Skim
Now we will look at humans. We are weird creatures full of biases. Your job now is to make your CV as inoffensive as possible. This might seem obvious but for a job with several hundred candidates the algorithm might strip out 300 of 400 applicants. A human will quickly leaf through 100 CVs discarding the ones that upset them in a very arbitrary manner.
Common arbitrary reasons for rejection:
- Layout
- Embellishments
- Spelling
- Sports and hobbies. Some readers will worry that a dangerous sport means time off injured, or that an avid supporter will want every weekend off. Only include interests that add something to the picture of you.
Stage 3: The Final Pile
Assuming you made it past the shredder you are probably down to the last 20 CVs in the pile. Now it gets interesting because these CVs will actually get read properly, not skimmed. It’s now your job to become the stand-out candidate in complete contrast to the last two rounds of the process.
Physical CVs
If you are posting or handing in a physical CV, spend some money on a decent watermarked paper stock. This will stand out and impart associations of quality and seriousness without the assessor necessarily noticing; it will be too nice for them to throw in the shredder.
Depending on the job a thin colour border may be appropriate. This will help it stand out in a stack and again give an idea of your character.
| Colour | Signals / best suited to |
|---|---|
| Yellow or green | Collegial and creative roles |
| Light grey | Long-term, serious roles |
| Light red | Roles obviously about delivering a restructure – shows you mean business |
| Blue | Leadership and integrity |
| Purple | Emperors and royalty since ancient times – a class touch in the right tone |
| Black | Traditional, no-nonsense classic; a perception of timelessness and tradition |
Layout
There are many schools of thought when it comes to the layout of a CV. In all honesty it’s down to preference; every reader will have a different idea of how a CV should be laid out. This opinion will be formed by when and where the assessors were educated, to what level and what industry they are in. The wrong layout may be one of the arbitrary reasons your CV may get shredded in earlier rounds. It’s a game of odds, sometimes you will luck out early. It’s just the way of things.
Don’t let it get you down, it’s not personal. KEEP GOING! (I can’t stress this enough.)
I think it’s best to get the most important things first. The only layout decision everyone agrees on is that the first thing on your CV after your name should be your profile / introduction / personal statement.
Your Opening Statement
Your opening statement is your first introduction. What is an excellent opportunity is often squandered! We want to showcase you, your methodology combined with the industry way of doing things. After you have written your first draft you want to swap out the words you have used in exchange for the keywords listed from the job spec. Yes, you have to do this for every job as each spec will be different.
This is a profile for a Head Chef. In one paragraph it conveys everything a prospective employer WANTS TO HEAR.
Below you will see varying examples utilising the same framework adapted for each role:
How Long Should It Be?
There are good arguments for a 1-page CV. For most people 2 pages is about right. But what if the reader has a one-page attention span or is skimming through them at a rate of knots? Get the most important stuff on page one and leave page 2 for supplemental information, like extended work history and your GCSEs. You’ll find a full two-page example at the end of this guide.
Page 1: Sell the Dream
1. Professional Experience
I like to give a quick recap on the last two positions held, what you were responsible for. This would include how much money you were trusted with and how much you made, how long you were there for etc.
Awesome Hotel - Restaurant - Pub
From - To
- Delivered Cash Margin of £ on £ Food Sales
- Reduced Staff Costs to %
- Received 5 Star EHO Score
- Full Accountability for Kitchen P&L
- Staff Training & Recruitment
- Menu Planning & Costing
- All Additional Associated Responsibilities
2. Areas of Expertise
As an employer I want to see very quickly where you consider your strengths to be. Any specialist skills should be at the top of the list as this will capture the imagination of the reader. They are creating a virtual ‘you’ in their mind’s eye. It needs to be an inspiring image but not one that will set you up for failure later if the two don’t marry up.
- Baking & Patisserie etc.
- Shaping Successful Teams
- Cost Management
- Profit Generation
- Visually Exciting Dish Design
3. Career Highlights
As the reader is rapidly building this virtual construct, they will be considering your potential and how you will bring success to their team. Showing off your past success in an understated way will give confidence to the level you work at and your future capabilities.
In charge of serving the most important tables for the Royal Family, whilst running an additional 22 boxes as well as theirs. It was both massively challenging and rewarding.
Michelin Star – Awesome Hotel
Delighted to have brought home a star for the Restaurant. Incredibly proud of the consistent quality my team maintained to achieve such an accolade. Ultimately menus are designed for my customers but a little recognition is always nice.
Page 2: Back it Up!
4. Work History
We continue with a summary of work history. Does anyone care about a seamless work history with no gaps showing constant incremental progression? They do if you present it that way. The eye will look for gaps and look for deception so just don’t go there. In reality a prospective employer wants you to give them confidence and reinforce their construct of you. Who cares if you are 45 years old and didn’t have a great start to your working life? What really matters is your potential.
So, in this section I think summarising 2 big roles you have held for longer periods of time with a note offering to provide a full work history if requested is more than adequate. You have provided 4 chunky roles at this point so it’s unlikely more will be requested.
Position
Venue From - To
Position
Full work history available on request
5. Professional Qualifications
Professional qualifications are next. In my view this is far more important than GCSE and A Level results as they actually pertain to the job at hand. Showing a career-long commitment to personal development attests to your character and adaptability.
6. Education
Something College / University
Qualifications
Final Checks
Writing your own CV is difficult for most people. It doesn’t come naturally to boast about our achievements etc. We also forget and rationalise some truly great life moments, so ask your friends and family to cast their eyes over it. See if there is anything you missed or didn’t place importance on.
Edit, polish and review it every time you apply for a new job. Keep it live and update it with your new achievements, qualifications and outlook. This will ensure your ‘suit’ still fits and you can wear it with pride and confidence.
If your character is to embellish and story-tell, ensure you haven’t stretched the truth beyond credibility. Think of the candidates from The Apprentice TV show that often seem ridiculous when their over-embellished claims are debunked for the nation on prime time.
Check it, check it & check it again!
By now you should have a CV that will whet the appetite of most recruiters. They may well ask you to an interview out of curiosity. Many a time I have invited someone in because I’m intrigued to see what they are like. Often these people have been offered more senior roles than the one they applied for. Good recruiters will be looking to build a pipeline of candidates for future roles within the business.