I think The Real CV Guru was birthed from the positive feedback that I received from the participants or the trainees that I worked with. I had a lot of people approaching me after the workshop, asking if I can have a look at their CVs and after I'd looked at or reconstructed their CVs, they were able to find employment. 

I don't want 'The Real CV Guru' to be a one-man show for too much longer. When I started out, I had a lot of goals that I was working towards and I've managed to smash those goals. 

I would definitely advise them to be more specific, because a lot of the job seekers that I work with always come back to me saying, "I don't understand what is required of me from this job description." So, being specific - since we expect the candidate to take a targeted approach, I think this is the least employers and recruiters can do.

What I've found is that a lot of the people that I work with are very reluctant to self promote. It makes them feel like they are bragging and it's an uncomfortable situation to be in for most people - to feel like they are bragging. And that is essentially what you need to do on your CV.

I always say that the first page of the CV is so critical. It's so important because that is the page that the reader sees immediately when they open up your CV. You want to pull them in, to make them want to read further. It's important to make sure that all your achievements, all of the gems, are on that first page. 

A good CV follows a simple but modern aesthetic. Simple but not too simple that it reminds you of those Microsoft Word templates that we once used - simple does not equate to outdated. At the same time, it's modern but not too modern in that it has striking fonts and visuals that overpower the content. Because, at the end of the day, it is the content that you need to draw focus on.

From their perspective, what is important is there needs to be evidence of continued learning and evidence of continued learning is upskilling. You don't want to be at a place where you've just obtained a marketing management degree or diploma, maybe you obtained it two to three years ago, and you haven't furthered your knowledge or expanded on your knowledge. 

I wouldn't recommend adding a picture to your CV, particularly because, firstly, you don't want to put yourself in a position where the reader, recruiter or hiring manager is focused on your appearance more than the content itself. Because what needs to be the focus is the content - you don't want anything that's going to pull the focus away from the content.

What I advise people to do is, firstly, know which roles you are targeting. That is very important because then you'll know how to target or align your CV. Your CV needs to be aligned either to the role that you're applying for or to your target industry. That is quite important when you put together a CV.

A lot of CVs are still laced with personal details that are not only unnecessary but can put you in a position where people are able to use your personal details. We need to remember that when you put your CV on a job board, for example, your CV is now public. If you have your I.D. number and the exact address of where you stay, a lot of people can use that information.