Give your career a workout. Business partner CV essentials 28/10/2012

Business partnering principles apply to all HR roles. After all, it's a matter of commercial customer service and consulting that we are offering, whether a generalist, an L&D specialist or in reward.

For all HR professionals, here are the key differentiators that need to be included in your CV. Follow the checklist and see how easily you can improve your essential marketing document.

Demonstrate your commercial knowledge. Show you're primarily a business person who clearly adds measurable value to the business. What part have you played in non-HR activities?

Show the recruiter you're an expert at building easy and difficult relationships and able to influence and persuade to ensure HR has a credible voice. Remember this role is about partnering - a relationship of mutual trust and benefit.

Give evidence and examples where you have sought out opportunities and acted upon them, rather than waiting for work to come to you. As a BP, you're not a strategist, you implement the strategy, but how often have you pre-empted a situation and delivered a vital solution? Deliver tomorrow today.

What have you thought of and initiated that's returned real business benefit? Creativity does not have to be earth shattering, just effective continuous improvement. Innovation will take business and certainly HR to the next level.

If a CV doesn’t have metrics to prove achievement, the reader will doubt that the success is real. Metrics must be overtly included in your achievements. Reducing benefit costs, improving time to hire, reducing absenteeism and improving employee engagement are just a few of the measures one could include.

Your CV is a subjective and complex document, but in this market, it's never been more important. Set yourself apart by showing the recruiter that not only do you meet the brief, but give them evidence of some great achievements that they will certainly want you to do for the hiring company.

Have a really good look through your achievements and make sure that they highlight these BP competencies. Many people won’t, so you’ll immediately have the upper hand.  The process will also start to prepare you for the interview you will inevitably get.

• ww.thecareergym.co.uk