Three tips for a more effective CV

If there’s one thing we see a lot of at Foundation Recruitment, it’s CVs. It’s part of our job. It’s also part of our job to know what makes a great one and what falls short of the expectations of most of our clients.

Whilst we will always champion your cause to our clients and offer them our full and honest opinions, a great CV can give us that added advantage. So here are our three top tips to help you shout about your achievements and maximise your chances of securing first interview success in an increasingly competitive shopping centre and venue management job market.

Tip 1 – Paint a picture

You might know your scheme inside out but your prospective interviewer probably won’t. In your career section, start each role by including a short paragraph detailing key information about each centre where you have worked. This should include

• Size in square feet
• Who owns it and who is the managing agent (if applicable)?
• Who are the anchor tenants?
• What are the main challenges? For instance, is it the dominant scheme in the area or does it have a main competitor?
• In just a few lines this enables the reader to get a detailed picture of your past roles and how they could relate to their current opportunity.

Tip 2 – Achievements not just duties

In the main, those involved in recruiting shopping centre management professionals will already know the key responsibilities of most roles. As such, there’s arguably little value in spelling out your day-to-day duties. Instead focus on achievements that are unique to you. Any prospective employer is interested in what you can bring to their scheme that other candidates cannot. Specific items you might want to cover include:

• Instances where you’ve added value
• Examples where you’ve saved money and details of how much
• Examples of how you’ve increased footfall/dwell time/ average spend with facts and figures to quantify if applicable
• Examples of how you’ve implemented an innovative solution to a problem
• Instances that might have generated free advertising for a scheme through local partnerships

Tip 3 – Keep it short and to the point

Resist the temptation to list every duty and every single achievement from every position throughout your entire career. For most opportunities, employers will have a number of CVs to consider and it’s highly unlikely they’ll have the time or desire to read a four page career history, no matter how impressive.

It’s especially important to keep the information for historic or less relevant roles brief. These may not have any bearing on your ability to do the job on offer. Instead, focus on building the most detail into those positions which are more recent or more relevant as well as those where you were employed for a significant period.

Following these tips will certainly help you get your CV off to the best start whilst maximizing your chances of success. If you’d like further support and insight, Foundation Recruitment also offers a full CV writing guide which provides additional advice on best practice techniques. To request a copy, simply get in touch.