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Writer's pictureJoseph Williams

How to Create a Strong Profile in Clu

We get it. Another job board, right? Well, that’s not quite the case. On Clu, your unique skills drive your job search.


Our platform is designed to match you with opportunities that fit your skill set and align you with the right employers looking for talent like yours.

 

Creating a strong Clu skills profile is your first step towards discovering rewarding job opportunities you might never have considered. Here's how to make your profile stand out. If you have any questions, please email us at hello@getaclu.io. 



Tip 1: Add Your Skills


To get started, Clu will help you build your profile suggesting options from our skills lists across behavioural, technical, transferable and computational skills. Most people have 30-50 skills, so you're underselling yourself massively if you add only a few. Clu only works if you're also focusing on all the strengths you bring to the table.


You will have amassed skills in your daily life, as well as at work, so don't discredit something just because you think it's not valuable or relevant - if it's listed in Clu, it is. Remember, the more robust and accurate your profile is, the easier it is for Clu to match you with jobs where you can truly shine.



Tip 2: Rate Your Proficiency

Except for behavioural skills, Clu will ask you to rate each skill you add from Beginner to Expert level. The golden rule here is to be honest. Our algorithm uses this information to find jobs matching your current skill level, helping you apply confidently and reducing the likelihood of imposter syndrome.


A good indicator here, albeit not always the case, is to think that beginner elements are covered in entry-junior level roles, intermediate and advanced elements are covered in middle management level roles and expert elements are covered in leadership roles. If in doubt, it's always better to go down a level instead of up so you don't create challenges for yourself if you are successful in the interview process.



Tip 3: Add Achievements & Relevant Experience


If you've uploaded your CV to get started, Clu should have pulled through your education and employment history automatically - but it's always good practice to check, just in case.


When adding any background to yourself and where you developed your skills, always add bullet points highlighting your achievements or instances where you've successfully applied skills central to the type of job you want to do. See the next point for how to construct these well.



Tip 4: Focus on impact when writing your bullet points


When writing about your work experience, focus your bullet points on impact (what you achieved - not what you did).


Three steps to writing great bullet points

  1. Start each bullet point with an active verb in the past tense. This helps you write concisely

  2. Add enough detail to show off your skills and give the hiring manager context

  3. Include the impact of your work. Using numbers (e.g. increase of 5%) can help showcase your achievements, so use them if possible.



Here is an example of a strong bullet point:

  • Completed a test project to improve customer engagement form. I developed a dashboard with data sourced from Google Analytics, which showed a 17% increase in form completion.


In comparison, here is an example of a weaker bullet point:

  • I created a new onboarding form to make it easier for customers to complete our feedback process.


Making each bullet point effective will take practice and iteration, but it's worth it!



Tip 5: Include common skills in your bullet points


We've looked at thousands of job adverts on Clu and collated the most common job requirements. Try to demonstrate the commonly required skills for the roles you're interested in, in your profile.

Admin & Support

Administration

  • Excellent communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills, with strong attention to detail

  • Problem-solving and organisational skills (e.g. ability to multitask)

  • Develops strong working relationships

  • Strong computer skills (e.g. Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Slides & Sheets)

  • Excellent written and spoken English


Customer Service

  • Great verbal, written and general communication skills. Able to communicate complex concepts simply

  • Motivated to solve customer issues and have empathy when dealing with sensitive situations

  • Organised, process-driven and comfortable working to tight deadlines

  • Experience using live chat software (e.g. Intercom) and CRM tools (e.g. Zendesk)

  • Maintain a positive and professional demeanour in challenging situations

  • Interest in learning new things and comfortable working in a changing environment


IT Support

  • Manage IT environments (e.g. Office 365, G Suite, macOS) and handle support

  • Happy to work on day-to-day IT issues (e.g. cabling desks, troubleshooting printers)

  • Help colleagues solve problems over the phone, in person or via email/chat

  • Improving IT processes regularly and automate where possible

  • Plan and prioritise workload whilst dealing with changing demands

Data

Data Analysis & Business Intelligence

  • Problem-solving and analytical skills: can understand a problem, break it down and execute to provide the answer

  • Experience with BI tools (e.g. Looker, Tableau, Mixpanel, Google Analytics)

  • Work with large datasets (e.g. using Excel, SQL, Python, R)

  • Synthesise data to drive actionable insights for Product and Operations teams

  • Clearly communicate analysis to stakeholders at different levels (internal and external)


Data Engineering

  • Data warehouse design and modelling techniques

  • Work with large datasets and workflow optimisation

  • Experience with BI tools (e.g. Looker, Tableau)

  • Present insights to technical and non-technical audiences and propose actionable solutions

  • Commercial cloud platform experience (e.g. AWS, GCP, Azure)


Data Science

  • Strong analytical skills (e.g. Python, SQL, R, Excel)

  • Manipulate, transform, and analyse complex data at large scales to solve business problems

  • Evolve an idea from inception to robust and scalable implementation

  • Communicate effectively, with an innate ability to tell stories with data

  • Understand the business inside-out so you know how to add value best

  • Strong attention to detail, natural curiosity with ability to problem-solve creatively


Research Engineer

  • Develop and deploy software in a production environment (especially in Python)

  • Use ML and data science libraries (e.g. pandas, scikit-learn, Tensorflow)

  • Follow an ML workflow: prepare the data, implement and train ML models, evaluate results

  • Solve problems creatively and devise new approaches to reach results

  • Work with large data sets, and leverage multiple data sources

Design

Graphic Design

  • Work with design software (especially Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects)

  • Communicate the rationale behind your designs

  • Manage projects from end-to-end and manage changing demands

  • Focus on customers and how they respond to the brand

  • Think creatively and influence stakeholders to support your ideas

  • Work with engineers to deliver email and web design (knowledge of HTML is a bonus)


Product Design (UI/UX)

  • Work in a multidisciplinary team (with engineers, product managers and other designers)

  • Articulate design decisions to influence a range of stakeholders

  • Distill complex product challenges into workable solutions

  • Use user-testing and knowledge of human behaviour to drive good design decisions

  • Create prototypes using design software (e.g. Sketch, Figma)

  • Strong visual design skills, and able to work with design systems (components and patterns)

Finance, Legal and Compliance

Accounting and Financial Planning

  • Have, or working towards, an accountancy qualification (e.g. ACA, CPA, CIMA)

  • Methodical and organised, with great attention to detail and ability to multitask

  • Implement and develop financial processes (e.g. monthly reconciliation)

  • Analyse data to extract insights and present clear business cases (e.g. financial KPIs)

  • Quantitative, analytical and problem-solving skills (e.g. financial modelling)


Compliance

  • Communicate complex ideas in a simple fashion

  • Good judgement, integrity, and action-oriented approach

  • Respond to changing priorities while working to strict deadlines with accuracy

  • Strong knowledge of the regulatory environment in your sector

  • Build relationships and influence stakeholders across the business


Corporate Finance

  • Manage financial projects on tight timeframes through to execution (e.g. fundraising, debt raises)

  • Structure complex problems and drive to persuasive and actionable recommendations

  • Strong financial modelling, communication and presentation skills (e.g. Excel, Google Sheets, PowerPoint)

  • Manage investor relationships (e.g. VCs, banks, asset managers, hedge funds)

  • Build relationships across the organisation, particularly with senior management

  • Data-driven, analytical and detail-oriented


Legal

  • Review, draft and negotiate contracts of all types (from internal policies to complex commercial transactions)

  • Find the right legal solution while being pragmatic and commercial

  • Meticulous and vigilant, with a strong attention to detail

  • Balance and prioritise a large workload while working to strict deadlines

  • Work directly with senior management and build relationships with other stakeholders (e.g. investors, clients)


Payroll and Accounts

  • Experience with Excel, Google spreadsheets and accounting software

  • Strong numerical and communication skills

  • Work with a high level of accuracy and meet strict deadlines

  • Organised and conscientious

  • Great attention to detail

  • Make connections and communicate across all parts of the business

Marketing

Content Marketing

  • Knowledge of what makes great storytelling across all digital channels

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills

  • Creative thinker who can translate strategic and marketing needs into campaigns (direct response concepts, direct mail and email marketing)

  • Online and social media fluency (ecommerce, websites, blogs, etc.)

  • Multitask, adapt and prioritise under tight deadlines

  • Understanding of digital publishing and SEO


CRM & Experience Marketing

  • Secure, architectect, and scale cloud environments (e.g. AWS, GCP, Azure)

  • Build and improve workflows and processes, and monitor the effectiveness of existing processes and tools

  • Explain complex technical architectures to those less fluent

  • Practical experience of operating Docker and Kubernetes in production

  • Know how to prevent disasters from happening, and react well when they eventually happen anyway

  • Understand the software engineering life cycle, including design, architecture, test automation, deployment automation, monitoring and alerting


Generalist Marketing

  • Adapt approach and messaging to different customer personas

  • Use analytical skills to optimise investment and maximise campaign effectiveness

  • Manage expectations with internal stakeholders (especially sales, finance)

  • Define and own growth KPIs, set metrics for success and lead marketing prioritisation

  • Strong understanding of key marketing metrics (e.g. LTV, CPC)

  • Know how to get the best out of third-party marketing agencies


Performance / Growth Marketing

  • Analyse data (using Excel, Python or SQL) to make effective recommendations

  • Run successful paid social (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) or paid search (e.g. Google Adwords, Bing) campaigns from end-to-end

  • Come up with imaginative ideas to test, based on a strong understanding of users and the product

  • Work with engineering, marketing and design teams to make your ideas a reality

  • Optimise creatives, landing pages and marketing messaging

  • Knowledge of technical SEO best practices and optimisations


PR & Communications

  • Strong understanding of the media landscape in the UK (regionally, nationally and industry-specific)

  • Build and maintain relationships a network in the media industry (journalists, influencers)

  • Communicate clearly with stakeholders of all levels

  • Think creatively and have the ability to translate strategy into creative ideas

  • Natural storyteller, with the ability to create newsworthy opportunities and write compelling press releases

  • Manage multiple projects at once, balancing both breadth and detail


Product Marketing

  • Present the voice of the user, and champion user needs among competing priorities

  • Use metrics to define differentiated product positioning and talk about the outcomes of your strategies

  • Write copy that is precise, persuasive and ready for consumer or business audiences

  • Coordinate multiple stakeholders (especially in sales, marketing and product)

  • Distill complex products into easily understandable information


Social Media and Community

  • Understand social media ecosystems such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest

  • Find compelling ways to tell stories to users (especially long-form blog articles and social media posts)

  • Understand marketing tools (such as Google Analytics) to report on your campaigns

  • Provide the voice of the community and share feedback with the team

  • Manage multiple priorities, campaigns and audiences

Operations

Operations Manager & Strategy

  • Comfortable with strategic thinking and making operational decisions to deliver impact

  • Craft compelling narratives to influence senior executives, colleagues and customers

  • Break complex problems into smaller ones, and approach problems with creativity

  • Analyse data (e.g. Excel, SQL) and create models to identify actionable insights and put forward a business case

  • Manage multiple projects across the business and be decisive without perfect information

  • Personable and genuine about helping colleagues and customers succeed


Executive Assistant / Chief of Staff

  • Manage rapidly changing priorities and stay focused on the highest-leverage tasks

  • Resourceful problem-solver and have a way of making the improbable happen

  • Excellent communication skills. Equally comfortable supporting an external client meeting or having a chat by the coffee machine

  • Strong organisational skills with high attention to detail (e.g. arranging meetings, travel, logistics)

  • Work effectively with a variety of stakeholders with high emotional intelligence

People & HR

Human Resources / People & Culture

  • Personable and genuinely cares about supporting colleagues and their projects

  • Support managers to develop their teams, taking on the role of coach

  • Maintain a high level of confidentiality surrounding sensitive information

  • Build effective relationships with stakeholders across the business

  • Use data (e.g. people surveys) to identify important trends and actionable insights to improve the employee experience


Learning & Development

  • Craft engaging training materials tailored to diverse learning styles.

  • Lead effective training sessions across in-person and digital formats.

  • Manage learning platforms to deliver, track, and optimise training.

  • Measure training effectiveness and make improvements.

  • Collaborate with stakeholders to align training with organisational goals.


People Operations

  • Strong ability to communicate with all levels of the organisation

  • Work across multiple tasks and prioritise projects with many departments

  • Have high emotional intelligence and build strong relationships with stakeholders

  • Foster a work environment that is collaborative, friendly and effective

  • Demonstrate warmth, kindness and a desire to help people

  • Maintain a high level of confidentiality surrounding sensitive information


Recruitment

  • Build strong working relationships at all levels within the organisation

  • Strong communication skills to explain and pitch the business to candidates

  • Use metrics to drive an efficient recruitment process (e.g. cost-per-hire and time-to-hire)

  • Negotiate compensation packages and persuade candidates to accept an offer

  • Passion for giving candidates an amazing experience

  • Manage pipelines using ATS (e.g. Greenhouse, Workable)


Tech Recruitment

  • Build strong working relationships at all levels within the organisation

  • Speak the language of engineers and pitch them the opportunity, using your passion for technology

  • Use metrics to drive an efficient recruitment process (e.g. cost-per-hire and time-to-hire)

  • Negotiate compensation packages and persuade candidates to accept an offer

  • Manage pipelines using ATS (e.g. Greenhouse, Workable)

  • Passion for giving candidates an amazing experience

Sales & Account Management

Customer Success & Account Management

  • Great verbal, written and general communication skills. Able to communicate complex concepts simply

  • Organised and enthusiastic people-person. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to manage challenging situations and customers

  • Manage relationships and provide great experience to clients at a variety of levels and backgrounds

  • Expertise in relationship management, with a strong understanding of sales processes

  • Understand client requirements, develop and guide their thinking


Enterprise Sales

  • Structure complex deals with large organisations and negotiate contracts

  • Navigate the sales cycle from business partner to the C-level executive

  • Expertly and persuasively tell a compelling story and own the room

  • Self-sufficient and target-driven, with a track-record of meeting and exceeding quotas

  • Build trust and rapport with senior management

  • Talk to clients, problem solve, understand their requirements and deliver a great solution


Partnerships

  • Develop relationships with senior and C-level stakeholders

  • Identify opportunities for partners to leverage new and existing products

  • Present clearly to partners and be comfortable talking through complex topics

  • Commercially-minded and know how to maximise the value of a potential deal

  • Strong analytical skills to develop regular reporting on partnerships and sales trends

  • Target-driven and able to deliver against short-term goals and long-term strategies


Sales & Business Development

  • Communicate with senior stakeholders and clients

  • Negotiate and close clients based on trust and active listening

  • Achievement-oriented and motivated to meet targets

  • Follow a strong, repeatable and reliable sales methodology

  • Analyse sales metrics to help manage your pipeline and plan for success (e.g. using Salesforce or another CRM)

  • Strong ability to develop relationships, and you care deeply about client experience

Software Engineering

Backend Developer

  • Write software at scale (most commonly in Python, Go, Java, Ruby, JavaScript)

  • Understand trade-offs between business impact and technical robustness

  • Work with with modern cloud architectures (e.g. AWS and GCP)

  • Articulate what you’re working on and why in a clear and structured way

  • Advocate for clean code and best practices

  • Strong understanding of system design, data structures and algorithms


DevOps & Infrastructure

  • Secure, architectect, and scale cloud environments (e.g. AWS, GCP, Azure)

  • Build and improve workflows and processes, and monitor the effectiveness of existing processes and tools

  • Explain complex technical architectures to those less fluent

  • Practical experience of operating Docker and Kubernetes in production

  • Know how to prevent disasters from happening, and react well when they eventually happen anyway

  • Understand the software engineering life cycle, including design, architecture, test automation, deployment automation, monitoring and alerting


Engineering Management

  • Encourage a healthy work environment that’s both supportive and high-performance, helping teammates do their best work

  • Recruit great people to your teams and improve hiring practices

  • Work with product, design and engineering teams to support them in defining and delivering functional goals

  • Enough technical sense to ask engineers good questions about architecture and product decisions

  • Take ownership and thrive on a high level of autonomy and responsibility


Frontend Developer

  • Experience with modern front-end technologies (e.g. React, Redux)

  • Collaborate with product managers, designers and backend developers to deliver great experiences for users

  • Balance delivering code that provides an excellent customer experience with working in a fast-paced startup environment

  • Strong sense of design, understanding the importance of crafting a superior UX

  • Customer-first approach to product development


Full-stack Developer

  • Work on both backend (e.g. Go, Python, Java) and frontend code (e.g. React, Angular, JavaScript)

  • Think deeply about the user with a passion for building things people enjoy to use

  • Understand trade-offs between technical robustness and business impact

  • Work closely with product managers and designers to deliver features end-to-end

  • Explain highly technical subjects to diverse audiences

  • Balance the need for tested and resilient code against the need to move fast and iterate


Game Developer

  • Use Unity or C# to produce games, with high test coverage

  • Care deeply about player experience, with patience for fine-tuning features

  • Understand the full QA cycle when launching a game, and beyond to post-release support and developing updates

  • Work closely with product managers and designers to deliver features end-to-end

  • Optimise for frame rate, hitching, load time, memory usage and storage space

  • Knowledge of 3D modelling, sketching and game rendering


Mobile Developer

  • Create highly scalable, performant apps (e.g. in Swift, Kotlin, Objective-C)

  • Understand trade-offs between technical robustness and business impact

  • Care about product design and user experience, including an understanding of iOS/Android interface guidelines

  • Work closely with product managers and designers to deliver features end-to-end

  • Explain highly technical subjects to diverse audiences

  • Balance the need for tested and resilient code against the need to move fast and iterate


QA & Test Engineer

  • Write automated tests in programming languages (e.g. JavaScript, Python)

  • Review design specifications and define appropriate testing strategies

  • Create and maintain an automated build-and-test environment (e.g. Jenkins)

  • Make trade-offs between test quality and providing coverage

  • Explain complex technical issues across the engineering organisation


Sales & Solution Engineer

  • Present to a highly skilled and experienced audience (including enterprise architects and C-level executives)

  • Communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences

  • Analyse requirements, create specifications and work with engineering teams to implement solutions

  • Strong focus on solving problems for customers and tying business problems to technical solutions

  • Knowledge of programming languages (e.g. building web apps) and databases


Security Engineer

  • Communicate clearly on both technical and non-technical topics

  • Perform security testing and cyber security audits

  • Strong understanding of network and operating system security techniques

  • Take a risk-based approach when driving the security roadmap

  • Implement systems for monitoring and threat mitigation

  • Experience in programming (e.g. Python, Java, Go) and running services in Kubernetes and Docker



Tip 6: Set Your Preferences


Tell us about your job preferences, including the type of roles you're interested in, preferred industries, and desired work location. Clu’s mission is to connect you with companies where you'll thrive, so the more we know about what you're looking for, the better we can tailor our recommendations.




Bonus tip! Consider the hiring manager's mindset


A hiring manager will read your Clu profile. They often have hundreds of candidates to consider, and therefore you need to tell a really crisp and concise story. Sometimes you only have 60 seconds of their attention to impress them!


When you've finished writing your profile, read it carefully and ask yourself, 'Does this demonstrate that I can do the job they want me to do?'.


A few quick tips:

  1. A hiring manager isn't looking for a complete overview of your work history. Instead, they want to know the most relevant and important details.

  2. Focus your efforts on more recent roles. You should be giving the most detail for roles you've had in the last 1-3 years.

  3. If you find yourself writing more than 6 bullet points for each of your work experiences, you're likely not focused enough. let your skills profile tell the details; you just focus on the best bits.




Strong Clu profiles generate up to 60% more interviews because they reflect your full life journey journey and aspirations.



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