The contracting world moves quickly, which means that clients and agencies might receive hundreds of applications for each role. With so many CVs to get through, recruiters typically spend less than twenty seconds assessing each one. This means that even if you have the right skills and experience, if they’re not immediately apparent from your CV, you could be missing out on interview opportunities. Follow these simple but important rules for making sure that your CV stands out from the rest.

Target your CV

This is the number one rule for your contractor CV and involves tailoring the content to target the specific requirements of each assignment you are seeking. Remember, contracting involves matching your skills to the client’s specific requirements, so your CV should clearly demonstrate that you have:

• The required skills for the work
• Experience of applying the required skills
• Previous positive experiences with using those skills effectively

Cut down on personal information

While it’s not uncommon for full time employers to search for a candidate who fits their specific company ‘culture’, this is less important when hiring a contractor, who will usually be hired for a fixed-term project on the basis of their key skills and experience. Clients and agencies hiring contractors will be less interested in personal information such as hobbies, interests and career aspirations; cutting out this information from your contractor CV will also help the client or agency to find the key content they’re looking for.

Structuring your contractor CV

Structuring your CV correctly will help the recruiter quickly identify your main skills and experience. It will also help to achieve a logical flow that avoids repetition. Here are the basic sections your CV should include:

Name and contact details:  Make sure your name and contact details are clearly visible at the top of your CV. Remember to update your details if you change your address, phone number or email account.

Personal summary: Your personal summary should be a short paragraph that summarises your key skills and experience. It’s a good idea to read the candidate specification for the role and pick out specific attributes that you can demonstrate. Your summary should clearly state why you’re a good fit for the assignment, and might also include a sentence on how fits in with your career development.

Skills & Expertise: Instead of listing generic skills, your expertise should be industry specific, such as knowledge of procedure or technical proficiency with equipment and software. You can also include membership of professional bodies in this section, including any professional qualifications. Depending on your age, experience and industry, you may want to list your academic qualifications separately.

Work Experience: This section should include your work history and any relevant placements or volunteer work. You can give brief examples of specific projects that you worked on and any significant achievements where you made a demonstrable difference to an organisation.

Some other important considerations when crafting your contractor CV

Links to your professional profiles: Depending on the position you’re applying for, it could be useful to include links to your LinkedIn profile, website or online portfolio. These can provide the recruiter with a valuable source of further information. It’s best not to attach files as they can get lost. Also bear in mind that URLs can change location if you’re sending a digital CV, so it’s best to give a neat version of the URL address.

Presentation: Check your CV for clarity and readability, paying attention to fonts, paragraphs, alignment and grammar. Avoid using pictures or unusual fonts as they are distracting and can look gimmicky.

Transparency: There’s a fine line between presenting yourself in the best light and lying on your CV. Technological developments are making it increasingly possible for recruiters to verify the information you provide, so avoid getting caught out. If you don’t match all the criteria for a role, rather than making something up, emphasise the matching skills you have instead.

Buzzwords: Avoid using too many ‘buzzwords’ as these tend to clutter your information with generic terms. You should take every opportunity to make your CV genuinely interesting and unique. However, try avoiding too much personal information unless it demonstrates a particular skill.

To speak to a member of our team on a wide range of contracting issues, call now on: 0203 393 3881