Characteristics of an achievement based CV

A Great outlay for a great CV begins with:

  1. A brief PERSONAL PROFILE which should be a summary of:
    1. Key skills
    2. Experience and
    3. Personality traits
  2. Next should be a brief of your KEY AREAS OF COMPETENCE. Here, if you have an outline of the job advert and requirements, you can single out the key areas of interest to the employer and address them under this section.

Here is an example of a good representation of key competencies for a National sales manager:

Marketing: Generated $1 million in new revenue by creating national marketing programs to generate buzz around beauty products for ABC limited personal care brands.

Campaign Management: Prospected for new business through running various marketing campaigns including telemarketing, direct mail, targeted seminars, and partnerships with leading software firms whilst working as an account executive for XYZ limited.

New Business development: key player in cultivating relationships with national clients including Safaricom, Microsoft and Nation Media. Personally conducted assessment interviews with prospective clients to identify needs and formulate appropriate solutions.

  1. Followed by a relevant ACHIEVEMENT PROFILE. (relevant to the job you are applying for) This profiles areas of great contributions in your current and previous job roles in four dimensions:
    1. What was the challenge?
    2. What did you do? What was your personal input? What skills did you employ to get the project ahead?
    3. What were the results like? (Quantify the results). Also show timelines i.e. how long did it take between taking up the challenge and achieving the desired result. Results can take any of the following three dimensions…i.e. did you save money, earn money or save time?
    4. Briefly describe your key strength in light of this achievement

 

 

Example: a good achievement should sound like this:

EXCELLENCE IN CORPORATE STRATEGY & TURN AROUND

  • Head Of Finance (XYZ Limited)
Challenge Re-position the company’s operation to overcome turbulent price wars and improve capital productivity.
Actions Initiated price and product alignment to market changes and aligned capital requirements to market predictions.
Results Stabilized revenue and customer retention (30% price cut and VAS) and improved capital productivity by 25 %.
Strengths I can rapidly asses a complex business situation, formulate a solution that meets overall commercial objectives, and inspire and gain buy-in for dynamic change.

 

  1. The next item is your career progression/work history. The details contained herein will depend so much on how relevant they are to the job that you are targeting. Many people include their entire job descriptions, which really do not tell the potential employer what you can really do. My advice: if you have captured the relevant strengths that the employer is looking for, under the section for KEY AREAS OF COMPETENCE, then there is no need of repeating your entire job description here. A listing of your work history will do.
  2. The next item is your EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS. Again, here outline all the relevant formal qualifications as well as all the relevant vocational training (certifications) you have acquired.
  3. Wrap up you CV with a section for ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. This section should include:
    1. Your personal details
    2. Any relevant memberships you are affiliated to
    3. Your hobbies if necessary and
    4. Your references ( Include them when asked, otherwise just indicate that you will provide them on request)

You will notice that I have used the word ‘relevant’ repeatedly. Recruiters are bombarded by hundreds if not thousands of applications. Getting the most relevant experience in your CV will help the recruiter quickly determine your suitability as a candidate. On this note, therefore, you will need to carefully examine the job requirements and single out all the important items the employer has highlighted.