We recently advertised a job vacancy within our company on the local Job Centre website, which received great attention and has left us with more than a few CVs to read through. We started going through the first batch this week with expected results: some good, some bad. What I noticed though is that there were common trends running through them which I thought could be looked at and reviewed.

So here we go, I picked out my 5 favourites and given you my thoughts. Hopefully it might give you some insight in to how companies look at your application. The thing to remember is that you’re giving off all sorts of signals relating to what kind of employee you might be before we’ve even read your CV.

1. Keep personal emails personal
Out of all the CVs we’ve looked at over the past few days, most of them were sent from applicants’ personal Hotmail accounts. Addresses included nicknames, dates of births, seemingly random numbers, etc. (One of them actually included the word “corpse” in their address!)

It’s a lost opportunity to display some essential skills required for a web job – registering domain names and maintaining mailboxes. Sure, you might say you can do these things in your CV, but what better way to get the message across than by showing off before your CV is even opened?

Weaknesses shown: You lack passion.

The first thing you should do when looking for a job is set up a separate, private email address dedicated to work-related business only. In this line of work, the best thing to do would be to grab your name as a domain and host your email from there (cv@yourname.co.uk is perfect.)

Strengths shown: You’re organised and professional.


2. Test your portfolio links
You should always double check any portfolio / work example URLs before sending that CV out. If they’re broken or point to the wrong place or, what we’ve received more than once, bring back a 404 error then you’re doing yourself more damage than showing up at our office and serenading us with your “employ me” song. (That would actually be awesome by the way - our address is on our contact page. )

Weaknesses shown: No attention to quality or detail.

Make sure you have full control over wherever you host your own work. Sharing off a friend’s server can’t always be reliable. Hosting is cheap these days, so invest in somewhere reliable with good uptime stats.

Strengths shown: Skills in hosting and web servers.


3. Present your CV in a formatted manner
I’m including this one because we received some CVs in .txt format. Please note that basic visual stimulation goes a long way when reading your personal statement!

Weaknesses shown:  You lack basic PC skills.

Send out your CV in .doc or .pdf format. These are industry standard and there’s sometimes when you just shouldn’t stand out from the crowd.

Strengths shown: You know your way around Microsoft Office.


4. Double check your spelling and grammar
This one goes for any CV, obviously, not just in the web design field. It still surprises me when reading some awful cover letters with a nice mix of spelling errors, grammar mistakes and general untidiness in presentation. Now we’re all human and all make mistakes (if you’re pedantic enough, you can find mistakes in everything) but try and show that you’ve made some effort with the things that matter.

Weaknesses shown:  No attention to detail.

Spell Checker can only take you so far. Read over your statements several times to make sure. I find that it helps if you print it out and read it properly.

Strengths shown: Pride in your own work.


5. If it’s a design role – show some flair
If you want a job that's to help a company stand out from the crowd, then you have to stand out from the crowd. There’s a term in the dating world known as peacocking, which is essentially a display of confidence and flair in your presentation to make yourself stand out. We can apply the same logic here (but not too much, find a balance!)

The memorable CVs are the ones that stand out – good and bad.

You need to show a genuine interest in what you’re applying for. I think I speak for most when I say I’d rather hire someone with fewer skills but with more desire to learn than vice versa.

Of course, you could stand out by doing something crazy, like showing up with a red chair or show off your credentials in tattoo form when your dedication to being a computer geek is put in to question in the middle of the job interview.

So to everyone, happy job hunting and good luck with any interviews you go for. Also, have you got your own tips or experiences? Share them with a comment!