Get Noticed

Juni 24, 2018

Our HR network often asks what a good CV actually looks like. Most of us know how to prepare the structure but struggle with the content. The purpose of a resume is to sell yourself and emphasize your performance in your former and current company, which is sometimes more difficult than it sounds.

The HR character in a business position is where these difficulties begin. The impact you leave as an HR professional is difficult to measure and of course it is a challenge to put this in perspective on your CV.

It will be that you are considering writing down job related information, however I recommend HR professionals to list other important information as well.

Here are five tips to keep in mind:

  1. Company Information 

You probably know in which industry you work, how large the business activities are and what the regional scope is. However, chances are your prospective employer knows nothing about this, especially if you are applying outside your current industry. I advise you to give an insight into this, but keep it short! Think in particular of your industry, the number of employees, the regional scope, and if relevant; name the company or brand you work for if you are part of a business group.

For example: „A company in the Food & Beverages industry with 60,000 employees in 120 countries, and a turnover of 10 billion.“

  1. Responsibilities

For each job, state what your responsibilities are, who you report to, do you have any management responsibilities? State

For example: „Reported to the HR manager and responsible for 300 employees within ‘soft drinks’ sector. This includes, business partnering with heads of departments, employee relations issues and strategic planning.“

  1. Customer group

It is always interesting for your future employer to know who your exact customer group was. I recommend that you identify the number of employees, the company’s activities, and the regional scope where these customers are located.

For example: „These customers were located in 15 countries in EMEA, with 1 R&D department, 3 production sites, and 2 distribution centres.“

  1. Main achievements

What value did you bring to the company? Try to be as specific as possible (without writing an entire dissertation) and try to include the commercial value of the programs and projects you manage.

For example: „Transformed the Sales & Marketing function in Europe, saving around 250 thousand euros in costs for the region within 6 months.“

  1. Leadership team

Were you part of the leadership team? Mention this! This can be a crucial piece of experience if your prospective employer would like to see this in their next recruitment. This would also increase your executive presence.

When you combine all these examples together, it looks like this:

01/2015 – COMPANY NAME

HR Business Partner – Soft drinks sector

Company in the Food & Beverages industry with approximately 60,000 employees in 120 countries and a turnover of 10 billion euros.

Reported to the HR manager and responsible for 300 employees within ‘soft drinks’ sector. This includes, business partnering with heads of departments, employee relations issues and strategic planning.

Main achievements:

Try to keep your CV as current as possible, it is a good way to keep track of the achievements in your current company. You never know exactly when your dream job will become available. Rewriting your entire CV at such a moment can be quite a job!