The Residential Property Job market is a competitive environment, irrespective of particular sector. Our team of experienced consultants have helped compile a list of the Top 10 CV Tips, that you can use when creating and editing your Curriculum Vitae (CV) ready for applying for your next role in the industry.

Remember that in many cases (excluding mainly our estate agency team, who in general won’t require a CV initially) it will be our recruitment consultants first touch point and potential employer. Therefore, it is worth spending as much as time as necessary writing, editing and updating your CV before applying for any property job.

Furthermore, by editing and updating we also mean to ensure that you have spell checked it all and not solely relied on spell checker!

Remember also it is your opportunity for self-promotion and marketing. It will ultimately decide whether you progress to the next application step. Do not forget as well that it is a snapshot in time of your career skills, experience and knowledge, that if successful will form the basis of any further discussions.

• Keep it clear and concise
  • Ensure the design of template is easy to follow and read through
  • Choose an easy to read font, such as Arial
  • Keep sentences concise, avoiding adding unnecessary words
  • Add any necessary technical jargon, but only where appropriate
  • Format it properly
  • Keep it to two pages of A4 (unless applying for roles that require additional information, such as architectural design roles where portfolios of previous work become critical)
• Ensure you include
  • Personal & Contact Information
  • Education & Qualifications – including your achievements
  • Employment History – including your achievements
  • Personal Interests & Hobbies
• Keep your CV up to date, including:
  • Personal & Contact Information Changes
  • Education & Qualifications – including your most recent achievements
  • Employment History Changes – including your most recent achievements
  • Update it regularly as you progress through your career as it is easy to forget achievements (even if you remove them later for other achievements!)
• Customise your CV to the role
  • Customise your CV to the property job you are applying for, do not apply with a generic CV (unless you are applying speculatively). Furthermore, consider researching the company (if possible) and match your experience and skills to the company values and services.
  • You can customise your CV to the role in many ways, including:
    • Referring to the job description to match your relevant achievements with the jobs requirements
    • Where possible use numbers in your relevant achievements (for example increasing sales by 50%).
    • Using technical jargon (where appropriate)
    • Optimise your CV to include keywords specific to the role. This will help make it more relevant to any employer or recruiter, more so if using automated methods. An additional bonus, is it can be found easier on job boards by employers and recruiters.
• Proof Read & Spell Check
  • Remember to proof read and spell check your CV, any property recruiter and employer will look carefully for any errors.
  • Ideally, get someone else to review your CV for you prior to applying for roles with recruiters or employers 
• Tell the Truth
  • Do not attempt to lie on your CV.
  • If you land your dream property job and subsequent background/reference checks uncover issues, then that new dream job will be lost very quickly.
  • Equally, it may impact your future employability inside or outside the industry
• Do Not Leave Unexplained Gaps
  • Do not leave gaps without explanation
  • They make any recruiter or potential employer suspicious.
  • You can fill these “gaps” with a number of things such as did you do voluntary work or go travelling?
• Highlight Hobbies or Interests
  • Hobbies or interests help you express your personality,
  • These can help differentiate you as an individual amongst other applicants.
  • Furthermore, hobbies and interests can sometimes then form part of the discussion during an interview as the interviewer can relate to you more easily
• References
  • Ideally, references should include someone who has employed you in the past and another person who knows about your skills and experience.
• Final Point – Contact Information – Personal Email Addresses
  • Is your personal email address appropriate to the property job being applied for?
  • Ensure your email address is professional in tone and most importantly not offensive or inappropriate  – for example John.Bloggs@tdm-recruitment.com

After completing your CV*, why not view TDM’s latest available jobs below and apply for your next Property Job today?

*Although if you are applying for our Estate Agency roles and are uncertain then call our team today on 01795 531 934