A traditional CV tends to start by stating your current position and then goes through each of your last few roles in turn. However sometimes you want to highlight your skills rather than focus on the jobs you have done before, which is where a skills-based CV, also referred to as a functional CV, comes in useful.
There can be a number of different reasons why you might choose a skills-based CV over a traditional CV:
- You have limited experience – If you don’t have a great amount of experience or it’s your first professional role, you might find it difficult to promote yourself by listing roles you’ve done as a teenager or student.
- You’re changing careers or industries – When you’re looking to take the leap in to a new industry or career you might not want to be sidelined by recruiters who see your currently title and instantly assume you’re not suitable.
- You’ve had a career break – Whether you’ve been travelling or raising a family, you might feel your experience looks limited.
Tips for writing a skills-based CV
Start with what’s important
Knowing the order of sections for your CV can be tricky when you want to promote your skills above your work history. Just like a standard CV you should start with your contact details then include a quick personal statement or summary of who you are and what you could bring to the role in terms of your skills and experience.
Sell your key skills
The purpose of a skills-based CV is to highlight the abilities and knowledge you have gained throughout your work experience and education. This section should be the focus of your CV and include a number of things:
- Start with the job description – Select 3-5 key skills from the job description and use those as headings to demonstrate your abilities and achievements from your education and career history.
- Highlight your key achievements – Use one or two tangible examples within each skill so the hiring manager can see how you’ve demonstrated that key skill in a practical setting. For example for ‘Communication’, you might demonstrate how you started a newsletter within your previous role or perhaps the time you gave excellent customer service in a difficult situation.
- Technologies and softwares – Whether you’ve used them in work, university or at home, if a job description asks for experience in specific technologies and softwares then you should include this in your key skills section, including your ability level.
Don’t hide your work history
Though you might want the employer to look at your skills and knowledge rather than your work history you should still include it on your CV as the employer will expect to see it there. Don’t try and lie or mislead anyone in this section, be honest about what you’ve done before, keeping your key responsibilities concise so that the focus is on the key skills section above.
Promote your education
If you’re applying for an industry that you only have educational experience of rather than work history, for example if you’re an accountancy graduate, then you can use a skills-based CV to promote the knowledge you’ve gained through your education. Note details of relevant modules or courses, as well as any key achievements such as good test results or placements throughout your time on the course.
Be specific
It’s essential that a skills-based CV uses specific examples rather becoming simply a list of generic positive attributes. Think about the achievements that you want the employer to know about and how it reflects positively on you and promotes your suitability for the role. The same applies with your education, promote the specific skills and softwares you can use and any relevant grades that show what a great candidate you are.
Tailor it to the job description
Once you’ve created your skills-based CV you need to make sure you tailor it to the job description each time you apply for a job. Having one standard template you send for multiple roles will be clear to the hiring manager who could potentially not have the time to sift through your experience to see what they’re hoping to find.
Keep it concise
When you’re creating a skills-based CV it can be tempting to add lots of detail to really sell your skills, however you should follow the same rules as you would for a traditional CV and keep it as concise as possible. There is no industry standard, however generally one or two sides of A4 should be the maximum length for a CV.
Writing your CV can be tricky and time-consuming, however once you have a great template, that you can tailor to each role, you’re on the road to an exciting new opportunity!
We work with businesses across Yorkshire who are looking for talented Accountancy, Finance and Human Resource professionals to join their business. Whether you’re looking for a temporary, interim or permanent role we can help you find the opportunity you’re looking for. Call 01904 208065 or email admin@optimumrecruitment.co.uk
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