Ten tips on how to write the perfect CV

A survey shows that employers take less than a minute to decide if an application is worth consideration. Two experts
explain how to grab recruiters’ attention in a good way
Emine Saner
Wed 8 Jan 2020 15.56 GMT

T
he new year may provide the impetus to look for a new job, but is your CV good enough? A poll of 1,000
recruiters, by Adecco Retail, found it takes 34 seconds for an employer to decide whether a CV is worth
further consideration. Cliches, lies and typos are all reasons people are not offered an interview. So how do
you craft the perfect CV? Two experts give their tips.

Be relevant
“The key to a great CV is helping you stand out. You need to present yourself well, but you also need to ensure the
experience you are communicating is relevant to the job,” says David D’Souza, the membership director of the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional HR body. “Look at the job description, and make
sure that it’s clear why you’ll be able to deliver in that role.” Some employers still welcome a cover letter, but he
advises contacting the hiring team to gauge what they would like.

Mind your language

Avoid tired expressions such as passionate, hardworking and team player. “It does depend on the type of job you do,
but use descriptive words that mean something,” says Ruth Cornish, an HR expert who runs consultancy
Amelore.com. She likes the word “accountable”, as well as “achieve” and “purpose”. “What was the purpose of your
role? Why were you there?”

Pay attention to detail

“It’s hard to be positive about yourself because we tend to be quite humble, and it’s hard to read your CV as if you’re
seeing it for the first time,” says D’Souza. Show it to someone you trust – ideally, someone who has worked with you –
and ask for feedback.

Keep it short
“Be concise and don’t be afraid to delete experience if it’s not relevant to that role,” says D’Souza. “People talk about
the traditional two-page limit, but it depends on the sector and the seniority you’re going for but, broadly speaking, if
you can keep it to two pages, the recruiter will be delighted.”

Be accurate
Recruiters will judge you on mistakes, either in structure or in spelling or punctuation. “Use auto-correct, but also get
other people to check for errors,” says D’Souza.

Make sure it reflects you

The look and feel – making it polished and professional – is important. “What font have you used?” says Cornish. “Are
there different fonts, and bold here and there? No header? Think about the use of colour. You can really polish that
document.”

Don’t be afraid to include personal information

Don’t ramble on about your pets or travel experiences, but if you have been on maternity leave, say it. “People are
more aware of the fact that women and men take time out to have children,” says Cornish.

Don’t necessarily include a photo

D’Souza is not a fan of photos. “They can be problematic – it invites people to evaluate you on how you look rather
than the substance of your work. There is some debate about whether people should be inventive on CVs. If you want
to play it safe, a traditional CV, highlighting your key achievements that are relevant to the role is still the best way of
securing a job, unless it’s a particularly creative sector.”

Include interesting hobbies

Team sports look good, “or something which show a degree of dedication, but avoid things that are ‘I go out and enjoy
socialising’ because that doesn’t tell them anything more about you as a person,” says D’Souza.

Or maybe don’t do a CV at all

“I’ve seen video CVs, where you just send in a clip about yourself,” says Cornish. “That’s increasingly common for
younger, creative people. Rather than saying you’re creative, prove it.” It does depend on the sector; some recruiters
will love it, some will hate it. “Frankly, it’s so competitive and HR people put so many hurdles in, if you can
circumvent it all by sending a video to a senior person in a company saying ‘this is me, can I come and work for you?’
and they say yes, that’s worth doing.”

Topics
Work & careers
Shortcuts
features