Your CV is one of the most important documents you’ll ever write in your career - and yet it’s often rushed, recycled, or treated like a chore. Your CV is a representation of you. It’s your professional first impression, your highlight reel, and sometimes your only opportunity to show a hiring manager, recruiter or talent acquisition team why they should keep reading.
That said, your CV isn’t a life story. It’s not a detailed diary of everything you’ve ever done. Instead, it should be a snapshot of your strongest skills and best achievements, carefully chosen to align with the role you’re applying for.
And this is where many people fall down: your CV must be targeted. You only get one shot to impress the reader, whether that’s a hiring manager or a recruiter who is:
Dealing with a high volume of inbound CVs and actively looking for reasons to disqualify candidates and reduce the shortlist
Searching for very specific information and keywords that prove you can do the job
A strong CV makes their job easier. A weak or unfocused one gives them a reason to move on.
Here are some of the key points everyone should consider when writing your CV:
1. Have More Than One Version of Your CV
A tailored job search requires a tailored CV. In fact, you should expect to have more than one version. Writing a CV isn’t an easy task, but it is one that needs that time and dedication.
Every job specification is different. If you rely on the same CV for every application, sooner or later what you’ve sent will become less relevant to the role you’re applying for. Your CV is not a one-size-fits-all document.
To keep your CV concise and impactful:
Don’t include everything you’ve ever done
Focus on what the employer is asking for
Remove experience and skills that don’t add value for that specific role
A great sense check is your skills section. Make sure it clearly aligns with the skills or competencies listed in the job advertisement. If it’s important to them, it should be visible to the reader within seconds.
2. State the Obvious
This sounds basic, but it’s one of the most commonly overlooked mistakes.
If a role is asking for a very specific skill, make sure it’s explicitly listed on your CV. Don’t assume the reader will infer it.
For example:
If the job title and description repeatedly reference “content”
And they specify the type or style of content
Then your CV should reference content clearly, consistently, and in context.
Remember: recruiters and talent teams will often use CTRL + F (find) to scan for keywords. If they search for a term and get zero matches, your CV may be automatically rejected. This happens far more often than you’d think!
The same rule applies to cover letters and introductions:
If you say you’re a specialist in a certain area, prove it on the CV
If you say it, show it
Keywords should appear often, and it’s absolutely fine to bold them. Adding texture to a CV is a simple but effective way to draw the reader’s eye to your most relevant experience.
3. Keep It Clear and Simple
We all want our CV to look impressive, so the pull toward highly designed, eye-catching formats is understandable. But there’s a trade-off…
When structure is lost, clarity suffers.
A traditional CV follows a very clear and logical direction:
Introduction
Experience
Education
Achievements
Skills
Personal notes (skills, hobbies, interests)
Overly “boxy” or heavily formatted CVs often disrupt this flow, forcing the reader to scroll, scan, and search for the information they need. When applications are in the hundreds and time is tight, that’s not working in your favour.
Keep the format simple. If you want to show creativity or design flair, do it through:
Font choice
Consistent spacing
Subtle use of colour
Make your CV easy to read, easy to navigate, and easy to shortlist.
4. Bridge the Gap
Dates matter, so be specific.
Always list employment dates as Month, Year. Writing “2024 – 2025” suggests a one year tenure, but to a detail oriented and experienced reader, it could just as easily mean December 2024 to January 2025 – reducing that perceived one year down to two months. The former may be true, but that ambiguity can now raise unnecessary questions and pull focus away from your actual experience.
But bear in mind, when it comes to gaps: they’re absolutely fine.
What matters is that you explain them. Perhaps you were studying, travelling, taking a career break, caring for family, actively job seeking. These are all valid, so don’t brush over them. A simple one-liner works perfectly, for example:
December 2025 – February 2026: Travelled around Europe
Clarity builds trust.
5. AI – How (and How Not) to Use It
AI can be helpful, but it has limits.
AI shouldn’t be writing your CV for you. It can’t recall your key memories, experiences, or specifics in the same way you can. And while you can tell it everything, your own memory often works best.
It’s also important to know that many applicant tracking systems are now trained to recognise AI-generated content and may automatically reject CVs that appear heavily AI-based.
Another risk? If you ask AI to match your CV to a job advertisement, it often:
Copies exact wording from the advert
Mirrors the layout and phrasing too perfectly
To a recruiter, this is immediately obvious, and it can backfire. A CV that is too perfectly aligned doesn’t feel authentic. It may prompt the reader to check your LinkedIn profile, and if the two don’t match, you may not be shortlisted.
So how should you use AI?
To inspire an introduction based on what you want to convey
To suggest writing styles that sound like you
To break down job ads you don’t fully understand
To offer alternative wording if your CV feels repetitive
Bottom line: never have AI write your CV. Use it as a tool, not a crutch.
6. The Basics
Finally, don’t overlook the fundamentals:
Always write your CV in reverse chronological order - your most recent experience should come first
Check that fonts and bullet points are aligned and consistent
Write in third-person, past tense
Give context and quantities: reference numbers, systems, software, programmes, SLAs, KPIs, etc., and explain how you performed against them
Keep your CV to two to three pages. Anything longer risks losing the reader’s attention
Earlier career roles don’t need heavy detail, list the title and date and allow for elaboration at the interview stage
Include hobbies and interests as employers often look at these to understand cultural fit
Final Thought
A great CV isn’t about saying everything, but about saying the right things, clearly, confidently, and with the reader in mind. Treat it as a living document, refine it often, and remember: it’s your snapshot, not your story.
If it’s targeted, structured, and authentic, you’ll already be ahead of most of the process.
If you’d like more guidance or discuss your CV further, get in touch and ask us anything!