Improving your CV using Belbin Team Roles

How to increase your chance of being selected for an interview.

Enhance Your CV with Belbin Team Roles

How to Create a Stand-Out CV That Gets You Noticed and Lands More Interviews

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Developing a CV That Gets Noticed

Your CV is your chance to sell yourself and secure an interview. It’s often the first impression a prospective employer has of you, and from this initial glance, they’ll decide whether to take things further or not. 

A stand-out CV highlights your skills and achievements and showcases your personality and the value you can bring to a team.

Crafting a solid CV is essential—it’s your ticket to moving beyond the application stage and being considered for the role. By integrating insights from Belbin roles, you can make your CV more engaging and tailored to the job you’re applying for. This helps demonstrate your suitability while allowing your unique strengths to shine through.

A well-written CV can give you the competitive edge needed in today’s job market. Let’s explore some common pitfalls and how to go about creating a CV that delivers results. 

Common CV Mistakes to Avoid

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Your CV could be holding you back if it:

  1. Fails to grab attention.
  2. Has poor design or is poorly formatted.
  3. Focuses on listing tasks and responsibilities instead of showcasing accomplishments.
  4. Overlooks key achievements, failing to highlight measurable successes.
  5. Neglects to convey your personality, behavioural strengths, and what you bring to a team.

 

To succeed, your CV must stand out. 

Good isn’t good enough – it needs to be exceptional.

CV Development Tips for Success

Effective CV development is about more than just listing your past roles. To truly stand out:

 

  1. Customise your CV for each application, tailoring it to highlight how your experience meets each employer’s specific needs.
  2. Focus on your achievements on your CV not just your responsibilities.
  3. Use measurable results to demonstrate the impact made and value added.
  4. Use tools like a Belbin Team Roles report to emphasise your unique strengths and contributions.

 

This can help you stand out from other candidates by showcasing how your personality and teamwork skills align with the employer’s needs.

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Top Tips to Create Your Winning CV

Want to make your CV stand out and help you to land more interviews?

How can you increase the chance of your CV ending up in the “yes” pile for an interview?

How can you transform your CV from a list of jobs, tasks and responsibilities into a document that truly sells your achievements and what you can offer?

How can you make your personality, not just your skills and knowledge, shine through?

Here are some quick tips to help you…

Sell Yourself - Don't be Modest

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Invest time building a CV showcasing your strengths, achievements, and what makes you unique as a candidate.

Customise for Each Role​

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Tailor your CV to the job description. Align your skills and experiences with what the employer is actually looking for to show you’re the ideal fit.

Grammar and Spelling

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Spelling or grammar mistakes can be a dealbreaker. Employers often eliminate candidates for such errors, so proofread carefully.

Highlight Achievements

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Don’t be too modest – sell yourself. Don’t just list responsibilities; focus on accomplishments and results. Structure achievements using the C.A.R. formula below  (Challenge, Action, Result).

Let Your Personality Shine​

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Your CV should also reflect your behavioural strengths and show how you’ll fit into the team and company culture.

Quick tip – The AI tool Grammarly can help with grammar and spelling. It has a free version and a paid ‘Pro’ version. Grammarly can quickly check your writing for mistakes for you.

Practical Example

Let’s look at some practical examples of how you can use a Belbin Team Role Report to improve your chance of success. Jo is seeking a new job and has completed a Belbin Team Roles Report. As you can see from the graph below, Jo’s top two team roles are Shaper and Co-ordinator, and the lowest two are Monitor Evaluator and Specialist.

belbin report stengths

Using a Belbin Report to Enhance Your CV

A Belbin Team Role report can transform your CV, adding greater depth and insight into your behavioural strengths. It allows you to:

  • Showcase your unique contributions to a team.
  • Highlight attributes that align with the role’s requirements.
  • Make your CV stand out by linking your behavioural strengths to professional achievements.
Belbin Report for CV

Example: How Belbin Makes a Difference with CV Writing

Customising Your CV to Align with Belbin Roles

A customised CV is vital to getting noticed. For example, if your preferred Belbin Roles highlight strengths as a Shaper or Implementer, ensure your CV reflects these traits with statements like:

  • “Led a team to achieve a 20% increase in productivity by implementing structured processes and driving performance.”
  • “Excelled in fast-paced environments by pushing for change and delivering results under tight deadlines.”

 

This approach helps employers to see how your strengths translate into workplace success.

Incorporating Belbin roles into your CV adds more depth and context to your achievements. 

Employers are also increasingly interested in how candidates will fit into their teams and contribute to the company culture.

Highlighting your behavioural strengths, such as team role styles, demonstrates self-awareness and shows that you’ve considered how your abilities align with the role.

Belbin Report Excerpt

Jo, for instance, has a Belbin report showing Shaper and Co-ordinator as their strongest roles. Their original CV stated:

“General Manager with 20 years of experience in the engineering industry. Works well with people and meets tight deadlines.”

With the help of their Belbin report, this was transformed into:

A natural leader with 20 years of experience in the engineering sector, known for driving team performance and building strong relationships with clients and suppliers. Calm under pressure, fosters collaboration and motivates teams to achieve high performance in fast-paced environments.”

Identifying Roles You’re Best Suited To

Belbin reports provide self-awareness of your behavioural strengths, helping you identify roles that fit your natural talents. For example, someone with strong Implementer and Monitor-Evaluator roles might excel in operational or analytical positions. Knowing this can guide your job search and refine how you present yourself to employers.

How can I make the most of my Achievements?

Achievements can demonstrate how well you have carried out a task / project or overcome challenges or problems. 

So, think about what you are most proud of having delivered at work or what you have been praised for doing well. Remember that achievements can be personal or work-based and achieved individually or as part of a team.

When writing achievement statements, it is helpful to use the C.A.R. formula:

  • Challenge – What was the task, problem or issue you faced?
  • Action – what did you do to resolve this?
  • Result – what was the impact or tangible benefit that was gained?
stepping up with Belbin

Highlighting achievements using the C.A.R. formula.

Example – A strong achievement statement using the C.A.R. structure;

  • Challenge – Achieving a £300k sales target
  • Action – Secured and won a £1.2m, multi year contract through proactive business development
  • Result – Achieved a 97% customer satisfaction rating and expanded the contract for 2 additional years. 
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Take Your CV to the Next Level

Using a Belbin report to optimise your CV can significantly boost your chances of standing out to employers. By focusing on your behavioural strengths, achievements, and alignment with team dynamics, you’ll create a CV that’s both professional and impactful.

 

Ready to start preparing for your next interview?  

Frequently asked Belbin questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Visit our FAQ section, for a wide range of Belbin questions and answers. If you can’t find an answer, contact us, and we will respond as soon as we can

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