Brilliant Blog

It’s very easy to panic as soon as someone hands in their notice. You scramble around your computer to find the job description you used to hire them way back when, and use this out-dated document as the benchmark for future candidates. But taking the time to review, evaluate and amend the role and the person you want to attract will set you up for a very successful placement. Here are our top tips on how to write the perfect job description:

A bad CV won’t get you very far in the recruitment process. Here are the do's and don’ts to follow when putting one together. DO Do use a professional font, we love Arial or Times New Roman. You should always say no to Comic Sans! Do keep it to two pages max. Unfortunately nobody has the time to read a five page CV, nor should you want to create one. You can be short and succinct in your descriptions of roles. Do put things in chronological order. We want to see your career path clearly. Do use dates. The month and year of each role will suffice, ie. February 2015-March 2018. If there are gaps in your employment, please do be ready to offer an explanation and discuss what you learnt during that time. Lots of people take career breaks, it's what you did with your time out that matters. Do check for typos. Some mistakes can be easily missed and if you’ve merely typed the wrong word, your computer spell check won’t pick it up. Get a second pair of eyes to look over it. Do be specific. For each role that you go for, you should ensure your CV plays to the strengths required. Do show examples. For those key skills required in a job, give an example to set you apart from other applications. For example if you are uber organised, explain the time you managed the roll out of a new policy to 200 staff in your organisation. DON'T Don't include a selfie. It won't matter what you look like and it’s taking up valuable space where you could be explaining your experiences. Don't nclude every single job you’ve ever had in your career. If you’re applying for an Underwriting role, that job you had house sitting 15 years ago during the Summer holidays isn’t going to help your chances. Keep things relevant. Don't waffle. Keep language succinct and persuasive. Don't neglect your CV. As your skills and experiences progress, so should your CV. Keep it up to date.

A poor hire at mid-manager level with a salary of £42,000 can cost a company more than £132,000 according to Perfect match: Making the right hire and the cost of getting it wrong. That’s £132,000 that could go towards training, employee benefits and more! So, how can you avoid making such a terrible decision and what are the things to keep in mind.

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