The Secret to CV & Interview Confidence
Co-authored with renowned Mental Performance Scientist, Andrew 'Diesel' Bennett.
"Never give up. Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don't be afraid to fail." – Ayrton Senna.
Due to the birth of CV scanning software (ATS) some years ago, and more recently the emergence of AI, people these days feel even more pressure to get their CV just right.
These nerves and worries are palpable from a CV writer's perspective, and they understandably increase when it's time for the job interview.
But imagine this – instead of floundering in the interview, you know your worth, can confidently articulate in-depth answers to interview questions, and can state figures to back your achievements up – because you have spent time examining, reflecting and understanding all the times and the extent to which you had brought value to your past roles and companies.
What is confidence?
The dictionary definition of confidence is that it's a belief in your ability to do a task, based on previous experience. If you haven't needed to write a CV or prepare for an interview in a while, you will likely feel less confident – but if you have been confident before, you can be again.
This can be done by using the help of me (Becky, CV Writer), Andrew (Performance Scientist), or even on your own.
For the last decade, Andrew has worked with athletes at the peak of their sporting careers and within corporate industries, delivering mental performance, coaching and workshops to individuals, teams and businesses, helping to unlock their mental edge.
Combining lived experience and scientific methodologies, he has created a winning formula that continues to help teams and individuals create positive change for themselves and others. For more information about how Andrew's organisations can support you, your colleagues, family and friends, find him at kandryn.co.uk & abperformance.uk and at LinkedIn.
AI as a CV Writer
A little exploration into AI as a CV writer – is it any good? Does it work? How might it affect your confidence in interviews?
If you've asked AI to write your CV (either for a particular job specification or in general), you could well be on the back foot with regards to CV confidence and success. AI does not know you, only what you tell it – it doesn't intrinsically know what stands out on a CV and is proven in not prioritising the right things. It also tends to be equivocal and vague and has even been in the news for its inaccuracies.
This could well give the impression of ambiguity, obfuscation and even dishonesty both prior to and within interviews, and result in doubting yourself and falling flat when probed.
I have done a fair bit of research in this, and AI is not looking good as a CV writer! James Innes (the well-known 'CV guru') recently posted his thoughts which echo these sentiments.
Seeking professional CV writing help
Using skills derived from my background in proofreading (publishers, master's students, global law firm), English & TEFL degree (grammar & writing techniques focus), and experiences as a copywriter for all manner of organisations, for the last 10 years I have been helping people at all career stages transform their CVs, confidence and morale. I do this via an in-depth consultation and complete CV rewrite – bringing out the very best bits that employers love.
What I provide is the platform upon which clients can detail all roles leading up-to where they are now – their career choices, earlier roles (some key activities and 'pull-outs'), where and how they added value, spending extended time on more recent roles (attaching great figures if possible) – and spending some time exploring both innate traits and cultivated skills.
I'll often serve as a reflective ear, and understand life's challenges, pitfalls and career issues – serving as an informal counsellor and career 'mirror' for clients – building clarity and self-understanding.
This consultation is the place to practise responses to my questions (often similar to key interview questions) in an informal environment prior to that more pressurised interview setting.
And by getting my help in creating a professional CV, clients are able to have 100% confidence in what is written, knowing that it accurately reflects them, their achievements and their skills.
However, you can create a great CV without a CV writer (or AI).
How? You can follow the below as a guide:
- Ensure beforehand to have identified one to three key roles or role types you have your eye on.
- Think carefully about the questions a CV consultant or an interviewer may ask, based on your CV. For details on the STAR format, see below.
- For those that don't know, STAR is Situation, Task, Action, Result.
- Depending on your unique career, think about 4-10 key achievements or challenges in this way: what was the context, what did you do (using which skills perhaps) and what was the result? Make sure these are relevant to the roles/role types you are going for – ideally in different ways.
- N.B. On the CV, there's not much room for all these so I miss out the 'task' bit – but for the sake of an interview or a covering letter, you could think about/detail all 4 aspects of STAR.
- Write the answers down, thinking hard about figures. For example, if you introduced a new process, try and do some calculations.
- From 8 years in interviewing people, I know that, once keenly prompted, you may be able to calculate an approximate percentage of time that the new process saves a team or person (in a week or month) far more easily than you had thought.
- There are many diverse ways in which people add value (and can attach key figures to) for example: monetary (profit, revenue or account worth/growth), customer increases, team sizes led, NPS, employee engagement/retention increases, productivity increases, audit/compliance scores, industry awards, press coverage, student results & incident reductions.
- With earlier roles, no need for figures (though they're great if you have them) but even just acknowledging a key pullout (way you added value) is confidence and clarity building.
- Now, if you can, find someone you can go into the STAR format with… let them be your reflective ear, hearing how you achieved X, Y and Z! If you can't use anyone, use yourself – a video / recording or mirror perhaps to verbalise what we've outlined previously.
More useful tips for your armoury…
- Recruiters spend under 10 seconds on initial CV scans – they can have hundreds to look through.
- Aim for 5 lines in the top profile. Allude to the value you've been proven in delivering and the level at which you've worked in the first sentence. Then go into the invaluable skills and traits they want – focusing on the more high-level range and covering the people / leadership skills.
- Try and make your CV no more than 2 pages.
- Cut all unnecessary words and make earlier roles less detailed.
- Mostly focus on where you've added value or high-level activities on the CV.
- Begin lines with action verbs (delivered, executed, led, managed, spearheaded, etc).
- Do a little intro before bullets – outlining the company if little known, setting context and summarising accountabilities, scope and scale of the role.
- Avoid beginning bullets with 'Responsible for…' and make bullets no more than 2 lines – they are supposed to be easy to scan. You can always do a sub-bullet if necessary.
We hope you enjoyed this article.
If you want increased CV and interview confidence, an expertly written CV, LinkedIn or cover letter, and/or higher clarity and morale, find Becky on 07928 525 882 or at becky@winningcvs.com. You could also explore www.winningcvs.com and if you mention this article, get 20% off the site prices.
If you would like support in 'Creating Confidence' then Andrew is able to help you. In just one hour, he will share the same process and tools used by Formula 1 drivers and Olympians. He will help you to not only reduce the anxiety and build-up of pressure, but he will also give you a life changing tool that will help you create confidence each and every time you need it.
Andrew will also match the 20% discount Becky is offering if you quote this article when enquiring.
To book a session, email andrew@abperformance.uk
Thank you for reading, and we wish you all the success you deserve in your job hunting.
Andrew and Becky.