Working with a professional CV writer – an ACCA affiliate's first job
In this series, professional CV writer Neville Rose, director of CV Writers, works with ACCA affiliates and members at various stages of their careers to write CVs that will help them achieve their goals. We get to see questions, doubts and misconceptions about CVs explained by an expert, while also getting an idea of what it's like to work with a professional CV writer. We'll share the finished CVs, LinkedIn profiles and, hopefully, a few success stories.
ACCA affiliate Kushagra Didwania
High-achieving Kushagra Didwania became an ACCA affiliate having completed his ACCA exams in 18 months. He ranked No. 1 in India and 7th globally for the Advanced Performance Management paper and No. 2 in India and 8th globally for Advanced Finance Management. Kushagra, who has no previous work experience, is keen to pursue a career as a management consultant.
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In an initial exploratory chat with Neville, director of CV Writers, Kushagra explained: ‘I am a good problem solver and would like to work as a management consultant using my strong financial and analytical skills in finding solutions to business issues. I would like to build my expertise working across a diverse range of industry sectors and clients.’ Kushagra agreed to find some example management consultant jobs on the ACCA Careers website and forward them to Neville prior to the CV consultation.
Demonstrating transferable skills in an early career CV
With no direct work experience, a CV needs to focus on other areas of experience and education in order to demonstrate both relevant and transferable skills. Kushagra had completed a thesis as part of his accounting degree on analysing the failure of the aviation industry in India. This utilised similar skills as those used by a management consultant so was emphasised in the CV. Additionally, Kushagra had worked as part of a team in the National Cadet Corps setting up a medical camp and managing a cleanliness and awareness campaign during an outbreak of dengue in the region.
Neville says: ‘In an early stage CV you need to draw on any experience you have from school, university, voluntary work or any other extracurricular activities. Kushagra had completed some relevant courses and projects including an Introduction to strategic consulting. At school Kushagra was the yoga captain incorporating yoga into the school curriculum and transitioned the programme successfully to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.’
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Writing a forward looking professional profile
Kushagra asked whether the CV needed a summary as a recruiter had advised him this was not necessary. Neville agreed, although recommended a professional profile: ‘Kushagra rightly pointed out it seems pointless to have a summary within a CV, which is essentially already a summary. However, a professional profile is a forward-looking positioning statement. It should position you in line with the jobs you are applying for and highlight the personal qualities that will enable you to succeed. In this way, the professional profile is a forward-looking statement acting to connect you with the job you are applying for.’
Utilising white space effectively in a CV
Kushagra asked whether white space in a CV might look like a candidate lacks experience or qualifications. Neville replied: ‘White space is good when used properly. While you wouldn’t want to have three quarters of a page with no information on it, white space should be used throughout the CV to make it easy to navigate and read. A CV with too much information can look cramped.’ Given Kushagra has no work history, a one page CV format was chosen utilising the whole page but without including so much detail that it was difficult to read.
Optimising the CV and LinkedIn profile with key words
In addition to the CV, Neville wrote a cover letter and LinkedIn profile. Both the CV and LinkedIn profile were optimised for the keywords and phrases associated with management consultancy. ‘Optimising the CV and LinkedIn profile with keywords is important,’ he said. ‘The CV needs to pass through applicant tracking system (ATS) filters that many employers use to filter and rank applications. Optimising the LinkedIn profile will help it to become more visible in the searches recruiters do when trying to find candidates.’
In addition to the LinkedIn profile Neville provided tips and advice on how to get the best out of LinkedIn when job seeking. Kushagra thanked Neville very much for the documents and promised to keep in touch.
Kushagra's career update
Since working with Neville, Kushagra landed a management trainee role at Genpact. He'd like to connect with and support students and affiliates along their ACCA journey, so connect with him on LinkedIn here.
This article is written by Neville Rose, Director of CV Writers.
CV Writers are the official CV partner to ACCA Careers.
In addition to a CV writing service they can help with Career Counselling, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and interview coaching. You can get things started with a Free CV Review.