Here at CV Pro, we often get asked how important is the format of a CV.

In the last decade the development of recruitment software (also known as Applicant Tracking Systems, ATSs or Candidate Management Systems, CMSs) has been profound. There are hundred of suppliers, and with this increase the price of them has plummeted. Which means they are everywhere. They are used by the vast majority of corporate recruiters, and we don't know of any agency recruiters who don't use one.

What does this software do?

Recruitment software receives your CV into its database. Typically the CV is parsed (read) by the software. Roles, positions, dates, contact details, qualifications, salary and other data is sequenced into the database where it can then be found quickly by recruiters looking for candidates with those particular skills, locations and other attributes.

The software also responds to candidates (usually by email, but not always) on their application status, interview appointments etc.

Sounds great doesn't it?....but there's a catch.

To be parsed properly and found by the recruiter, your CV needs to be in a machine-readable format, with the right searchable keywords. CV formats from 10+ years ago with mutiple graphics and colours, multi column formats etc will confuse 95% of the recruitment software products out there. They may ignore whole chunks of data, they may misread the data and put it in the wrong fields where it will never be found. Even simple things like address formats and placement can be critical. For example, we have seen a CV where the candidate lived in a Melbourne suburb, Altona Meadows. The software had misread that as the candidate's name. It was in the database as Ms Altona Meadows.

There is no point in sending your beautiful CV out to numerous recruitment companies or the HR departments of big corporates if it is never going to found.

In answer to the question above, format and content is critical. All CVs prepared by CV Pro are formated and tested to be compliant with all of the major recrutment software providers. You can rest assured that you will be found if the company is looking for someone like you.

Almost all of CV Pro's professional resume and CV writers are highly experienced recruiters. Some recruit full-time and write CVs in their spare time, some are part-time recruiters and a couple no longer recruit and just write CVs. The other day we were comparing stories about the worst interview mistakes that we had witnessed candidates make in their careers. There are a few of them.

Claire related a number of times when candidates would turn up for their interviews clutching a coffee and proceeded to sip at it while the interview progressed. It looked very unprofessional. Claire would always ask the candidate where her coffee was and watch them squirm...

Adam told the story of a candidate whose mobile rang in mid-interview. He then answered it and talked for 5 minutes to the caller about their plans for the weekend. When the candidate hung up, Adam showed him the door. The interview was over. Switch your mobiles off before your interview!

Lauren related the story of a candidate who came in for an interview with her 3 young kids in tow. She wanted to leave them in the reception in the care of the receptionist while she was being interviewed! Find a baby sitter!

Michael remembers asking a candidate what salary he was looking for. The candidate said he would not answer as he used a "professional negotiator" to act on his behalf when negotiating salaries....We have never heard of that in Australia! (or anywhere else for that matter).

None of these candidates got the roles they were being considered for.

If you have an interview; research the company, find out what they do. Dress professionally, turn up on time (or 10 minutes early). Turn your mobile off and don't bring food and/or drinks into the interview. Answer questions confidently and clearly and don't forget to ask questions yourself. It's a two-way street in there!

Redundancy. It happens more commonly than we'd often admit.

Yesterday, CV Pro was asked by a client if she should tell her interviewer that she had been made redundant. She had applied for the role before she was made redundant, and had had a first interview before it happened as well. She was now having her final interview and was unsure what to say.

Our advice; First off never tell lies in an interview...if you get caught out, you wont get offered the job. If you are asked why you are leaving tell the truth. In this case we recommended that the candidate tell them she was looking because the company was in some trouble and she was unsure of her job security (which was true). As it proved, her suspicions were correct, and she was made redundant. We also advised her to promote the positive in that she was now able to join her new employer much sooner than was originally planned.

In the interview itself, she was asked and she responded as above. The interviewer was sympathetic and knew how common redundancies are. She was also pleased that that she could start in a week rather than the original 4 weeks that were envisioned originally.

It wasn't the drama our client thought was going to be!

And yes, she got the job!

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