Updating your CV during furlough

Many of those currently furloughed, especially those in management positions, are finding themselves on less than half the salaries they were once on. Some people hope to fill their time and supplement their earnings during the furlough period – which now could extend to October.

If you are considering taking on additional work, before you start making applications you need to check the furlough clauses from your current employer. Some employers may state that you cannot work elsewhere. Other employers may accept you taking on another role, but you must formally let them know before you start a temporary role and who you are going to be working for.

If you have been employed for a while, you probably also need to update your CV during furlough, so here are some tips:

Tailor your CV to the sector

If you are in a different industry to the one you are applying for then you will likely need to tailor your CV to the job or sector you are applying for. The sectors most likely to require temporary staff at the moment are: supermarkets, delivery drivers and temporary administration work, although there are other sectors still recruiting.

Your professional profile

Your professional profile section will need to be amended and tailored to the job you are applying for and how your experience can be transferrable. This can include being customer-service focused, able to learn new working practices quickly, having a good geographical knowledge of the local area (for driving roles), a confident telephone manner, or experience in conducting various administrative tasks including correspondence, social media and database management. Finish the professional profile with ‘currently seeking a temporary role due to being furloughed where existing skills and experience can be utilised’.

This allows the recruiter to see straight away that you have the relevant experience for the role and the reason you wish to apply.

Your key skills

Study the job advert in detail and mirror the skills required. In your current CV this may have a completely different focus, particularly if you are in a more senior role or different sector. It is important to assume that the reader will have no idea that you have the skills required, and therefore adapt your CV accordingly.

Your career summary

Usually I would recommend showcasing your key achievements in this section, but it is important to keep this section relevant to the role. If you are relatively senior, you do not want the reader worrying that you may come into the role and try and shake things up. So, it is best to provide a short summary of your responsibilities and remove the key achievements. Although they will be very impressive and you may feel uncomfortable removing this section they are unlikely to be relevant to the role you are applying for.

After this you should now have a shorter, snappier and to-the-point CV, thereby allowing the reader to quickly offer you an interview!

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