How to Get an Employer’s Attention in the First Minute

Improve your CV and Job Applications to get an employer’s attention in just 60 seconds

By Craig from Jobulo

The modern day job market is an incredibly tough place. Seemingly gone are the days of seeking for and finding a new job within a month or two. Competition for every vacancy is much fiercer now than it has ever been. I was actually inspired to write this piece for Broke in London after one multi-national employer told the Jobulo team that when they were looking to find 50 new technicians for one of their sites on England’s South Coast they had over 2000 applications…! So it seems that now, more than ever, you need to be capturing an employer’s interest when applying for a job as quickly as possible. Keeping this in mind, here’s our guide on catching an employer’s attention in 60 seconds:

#1 CV Design

If you’re job application involves sending in a CV then you must pay particular attention to the CV’s layout and overall design. A design that is eye-catching, well presented and appropriate is absolutely key to creating a good first impression. Many people still use a standard looking Word Document as their CV with no real attention to detail or effort to integrate any graphical design elements. In the modern age this is sacrilege as it’s now easier than ever to inject some pizzazz and charisma into your CV. You can even create a unique and attention grabbing CV for free on with CV templates you can find online. Just remember to match the design to the job application – keeping it in line with what the employer might want to see from a potential employee.

#2 Length

Whether you’re submitting a full CV for a job application or filling in an application form, the length of your responses forms an important part of the overall recipe of getting noticed by an employer. When writing your responses carefully consider what the employer will be looking for and if what you are writing is relevant to the job role. Ideally each sentence should be purposeful and help build a picture within the employer’s mind of how you could be the great candidate they’ve been looking for. If it’s a CV you’re writing try to keep the overall length to no more than two pages, no employer wants to sift through pages and pages of waffle- keep it purposeful and targeted!

#3 Language

The vocabulary you use and how your application is written is another important factor in getting noticed. If you’re sentences are overly long and needlessly wordy this can cause an employer to lose interest. Similarly if you’re content lacks detail and relevant information this can really harm your chances of being considered right for the role. Try to achieve a good balance between the two extremes and maybe have a friend or family member read your CV or job application so that you can get an honest third party opinion on whether you are along the right track with your writing style. Ensure that this person knows the job position you are applying for as this should influence what you write. The job advertisement is also a great place to look for clues here; does the ad mention any relevant key words? Are there any particular skills the employer is looking for? Are there any core tasks involved in the job that you have experience of? Be mindful of these factors as you write your CV or fill out your application form.

Tip: For more CV and job search advice don’t forget to check out the info packed Broke in London CV Tips Archives!

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You may also want to have a look at other useful CV tips.