I am often approached by business owners who confess they have never needed a CV or not needed one for so many years that they wouldn’t know where to begin – there have been a few who have decided to go into contracting or permanent roles due to a number of reasons and are stuck for what to do. Whenever anyone sits down to write their first CV it is a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be – take it step by step. First of all I would like to point you to a blog article which takes you through the basics of structuring your CV and gathering information.

Now I would like to talk you through a skills audit – basically it is a process which will help you identify your current skills and any gaps which may need addressing for future roles.

1. 1.   Identify existing skills and knowledge – make a list of all the skills and knowledge you feel is important in your current role. Make sure you identify your key job description – looking online at example job descriptions can help with this, and then take a look at all the extras you are involved in such as marketing, finance, business development and other key areas to running a successful business.
2. 2.   Skills required for your next role – research the job descriptions and adverts for roles which you feel you are best suited for and list down the key requirements next to your existing list.
3. 3.   Compare – how well do your current skills match up to those required for the job you wish to apply for? Tick off the list on all areas covered and look to the additional skills required to see if in fact you have missed any from your own list.

Once you have a strong list of key required skills you are at a fantastic starting point for adding detail to the structure of your CV. Remember to flesh out the skills by contextualising them in bullet points which should average approx 2 lines. By adding detail rather than just skills keywords you are qualifying your competences and making your CV about you – not just a lot of keywords; exactly what the hiring manager wants to see.

Using this information as a guide and the link to structuring CVs you will soon have a professional document which can really harvest results and also inject some confidence back into yourself moving forward. Also identifying sills gaps will assist you in making a decision on training to ensure you are up to date with required skills in the marketplace today.