"does Your Cv Make You A Cut-out Or A Stand-out?"

Here's one sure-fire way to get read, get interviewed and get employed: tell the truth.

That's right, tell the real story (RS) - not the shiny superficial saga (which a CV does).

Why does the real story work better than the stock-standard CV?

1. By doing this, you are making life easier for your future employer, who would have done an online-search on you anyway if she was half interested in you. Don't wait 'til they are interested; don't make it hard. People employ people who make their life easy. Start now. Give them the links now and arouse their curiosity now.

2. It overcomes the "Nick Kershaw" problem. In the 1980s we all liked Nick Kershaw, but not enough to buy him - and most people hated Madonna - but a few liked her enough to buy her. Whether it's the music industry or the job market, the prize is awarded for being bought, not being liked. An RS shows more of what's unique about you. Your RS communicates a point-of-difference and a personality. It dares to take a stand, which will turn off some, and attract others to you.

3. It is more memorable. People remember stories. They forgets facts and stats. An RS tells a story about you which means you will stick in their memory.

4. When you can be honest in a self-deprecating way it earns you massive trust. If you first reveal a weakness, then once you talk about your strengths, people will believe you more. Can you imagine that being valuable in the context of getting a job?

5. It is a proven phenomenon that people relax when you dare to be vulnerable. It takes the conversation from "candidate-employer" to "human-human". That's a miles better place to start. That's where winners start.

6. The RS is a 21st Century Tool. You get brownie-points when you decide to use the Internet tools that everyone is using to make information-gathering easier and faster, rather than pretending they don't exist.

The secret is not to overdo it. Drop one quirky statement into your RS only. They want someone who is fun and professional. Be in the middle of the continuum between boring and buffoon.

Will you feel scared writing this way? Yes (initially). Will it work? Yes. Will everyone like it? No. Will you get job interviews from it? Yes. Or, you could go back to using a traditional CV - a format which leaves the prospective employer bored about you and confused about who to interview.

As a manager, after reading a CV I was invariably left thinking "I have no idea how to choose, I have no idea who this is". CVs send the reader to sleep. Hard to get selected when the selector is sleeping. RSs create real connection with the reader.

Which will you use - the familiar or the effective? Your move.