Articles From the Team

Your CV is your song

The festival season is upon us once again and so is the NQ season… Both are equally exciting and equally important.

There are few things, if anything at all, better than listening to a band live on stage with your friends or thousands of strangers, all rocking out with your hands in the air and screaming to the top of your lungs. Once upon a time, for a short while, I was on the other side of this; I was on stage as a drummer in a band. We never made it to the same heights as some of my idols (Stereophonics, Foo Fighters, ACDC, Muse...this list could go on for a while) but one thing we always had in common with the local bands playing the village fayres and the multi-platinum rock gods selling out arenas, stadiums and headlining festivals world wide was pride in our work. There’s no way to describe how it feels when you’ve written and performed a song on stage and then you hear the crowd, however big or small, singing it back to you. It’s an incredible feeling and there’s an enormous sense of pride and fulfilment in that. Of course, this isn’t my life any more but there are experiences I have had which I like to relate to my work as a legal recruiter specialising in commercial property.

When writing a song it has to have a meaning and purpose and it should be relevant to your audience; it should be something they will enjoy hearing once and then listening to again and again. It should stick in the memory, it should groove and flow and it should spark their intrigue and interest. There’s no point showing up to a rock show and singing a Spice Girls classic, in the same way that there’s no point in trying to play Iron Maiden to a host of Justin Beiber fans. The same principle can be applied to writing a CV; your CV is your song and you should be able to sing it loud and sing it proud. It needs to highlight what makes you a good candidate; it should highlight your education and your skills, what you’ve done well and what you want to do better. But most importantly, it has to be relevant.

I specialise in commercial property for BCL Legal in Birmingham. I work with a wide variety of different firms and partners and while they all want something similar, they all also want something a little unique and different. The point being, if you want to be a commercial property solicitor then you need to make sure your CV highlights this as much as possible. Your audience (the partners) want to see that you have relevant experience and training, or that you have relatable experience that you could transfer into this role. You have to do something to capture the attention of your audience; you have to make your CV as catchy as possible. This is something I can help you with. It may take a few attempts to get the right information across in your CV but once you do, this becomes your anthem and your crowd pleaser, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a one hit wonder…

Every day, BCL Legal assists legal professionals across the country, from paralegals to partners, to find the right role and take that next successful step in their career. We’re here to help you, to advise you and to guide you. The entire process is in your best interests. You’re the front man, the lead guitarist, the epic vocalist. We’re your support band, we’re the backing singers and even the roadies. Perhaps you’re on the small stage at the village fayre right now but you want to take the stage at a world famous festival? That step up is well within your grasp and we can help you make it.

For more information please contact Gishan Abeyratne or visit our website BCL Legal.