Despite repeated calls for the abolition of the CV, it has withstood the test of time. That’s because it does its job: it presents the candidate’s skills and experience to a recruiter or hiring manager, enabling them to make decisions on who to interview and who to reject. That’s not to say that CVs haven’t evolved. Digital media now has a place in the job search. Are you up to speed on the various ways that you can integrate digital media to land your next job?
You likely already have some kind of digital presence. When the emphasis is on
showing
your
skills, rather than merely
telling, it makes sense to make this proof of your expertise available for evaluation during your job search.
It’s a well-known fact that recruiters only spend a short time on their first evaluation of a CV – estimates generally range between 6 and 30 seconds. Attracting and retaining attention by integrating digital media can build credibility before you even step foot into an interview.
Digital media to build a professional presence
The exact media you choose will depend on your career to date and the role you’re targeting. Consider the following options:
Anyone can set up a
LinkedIn account and it’s a popular site for job seekers. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s a combination of an online CV, a networking site and a job board. After building a personal profile page, you can connect to others and create posts to boost your visibility.
Crucially, you can add more detail than you can on a
conventional CV, including examples of your work, visuals and projects. Contacts can endorse the skills you list and even write you a public recommendation. As LinkedIn is a popular site for recruiters, it’s well worth maintaining an active presence on the site and filling in your profile as fully as possible.
Portfolios
Creatives, such as writers and designers, can benefit from an online portfolio of work. This should be a showcase of your best output, ideally for different projects, clients or brands, to show a potential employer what you’re capable of.
CVs with portfolio links are a popular and easy way to promote yourself. While established professionals may already have a dedicated portfolio page, it’s easy to set one up – a free website builder or a site such as Medium will do the job if you don’t have the digital skills or budget to create one from scratch.
Websites
Freelancers or business owners are likely to have their own website. As well as establishing professional credibility, a website enables hiring managers to fully understand exactly what you do and the services you offer. The About pages, plus any testimonials from satisfied clients, can be a valuable source of information about you and your expertise.
Professional forums
Industry contributions are valued and show off your knowledge and commitment. Contributions to relevant forums can be a great selling point – for example, Software Developers may be able to point to their GitHub page.
Podcasts and videos
If you’ve created, or appeared on, podcasts or videos relating to your role or industry, that’s a great bonus. While the recruiter isn’t likely to sit and listen to hours of content, they may check out a few snippets. Even if they don’t, the fact that you’ve been proactive enough to involve yourself so deeply in your career (or been considered an expert worthy of an appearance in someone else’s content) speaks volumes about your commitment and knowledge.
Find out about the battle between traditional and video CVs here!
Integrating digital media into a CV
When evaluating a CV, recruiters and hiring managers will initially be looking at your experience – job titles, skills,
qualifications, training, and so on. The digital media shouldn’t replace or take over the CV. Think of it rather as an added extra, to strengthen your application.
Hyperlinks
Use hyperlinks to add digital media to your CV, to avoid clutter. For example, to add a LinkedIn profile to your CV in Word, type “LinkedIn”, highlight the word, choose “insert” from the menu, then “link”, and add the URL in the “address” line.
It’s recommended that the links are added alongside the
contact details – for example:
QR codes
While QR codes are growing in popularity, they’re not common yet on CVs. It will take time for a recruiter to either scan the code from a separate device or to use software to scan it on the device they’re already using. Job searching is all about making the recruiter’s job easier. While one (reasonably sized) QR code on your CV won’t hurt your chances, it likely won’t help them much either at this stage.
What NOT to do when integrating digital media into your CV
When considering which links to add to your CV, bear in mind the following:
- Don’t add links to personal social media pages – keep all links professional and relevant to the role you’re applying for
- Don’t substitute digital media for critical information – if something is key to your application it should be on your CV, not hidden away in a different place
- Don’t link excessively – for example, if you’ve published five thought
leadership articles, try to gather them in one place and use one link, rather than five - Check the links work before sending the CV – broken links are unhelpful and unprofessional
Final thoughts
Integrating digital media into your job search can give you a competitive edge, enabling you to show off your best work, provide more information about yourself and build your personal brand. Adding digital media links to your existing CV is an easy and discreet way to present a rounded application.
For an evaluation of your CV, or to ask a professional to create one for you from scratch,
visit CV Shed for information about the services on offer.
