37 tips from expert CV writers you must use

Writing your CV can feel quite daunting and if you search online, there is so much information, often conflicting or out of date. There are no strict rules as such, but professional CV writers keep up to date with best practice and there are common guidelines.

We asked members of the British Association of CV Writers (BACVW) for their top tips that will help you write an effective CV, selling yourself to potential employers. There are so many more tips so keep an eye on this page!

The BACVW is a not-for-profit unincorporated association with the aims of

1)?ensuring that anyone who employs the services of a BACVW member has the assurance that they have passed a rigorous cv writing test and have agreed to the code of ethics, and

2) providing a welcoming community for CV writers to learn and share.

Your job search

• ? David B. recommends networking as it can help you learn about job opportunities that aren't advertised and give you an inside track on the hiring process. Attend industry events, reach out to people in your field, and make sure that your online presence (such as LinkedIn) is professional and up to date.
• David also suggests creating a job search strategy can help you be more organised and efficient in your job search, increase your chances of finding a job, and ultimately land a job that is a good fit for you. Set clear goals, identify target companies and industries, research job openings and employers, and create a plan to apply for jobs and follow up on your applications.
• Lindsay Suzanne Fullarton ?says when researching a company, check out its values, culture, and mission statement. Make sure your own values align with the company and weave them into your CV if you can. If you’re not on board with their vision, move on…it’s not the role for you!
• David Smith recommends that it is wise to invest as much time (within reason) as needed in the information-gathering stage so you have plenty of content to work with, in particular achievements. This will make writing your CV easier.

Tailor your CV to each job application

Not surprisingly, this area came up a lot. Tailoring your CV to the job ad and adding relevant achievements are where a lot of job seekers fall down when writing their CV. It is so important to not send out the same generic CV to every application.

• Amanda Carpenter ?? explains that a targeted CV is aimed at an individual job role and company, and Tracey Salisbury says this demonstrates why you are the best candidate for the role.
• Advice from Elizabeth Openshaw is that although it might seem boring and take up yet more of your precious time, it will be worth it in the end. Check out key phrases in the job description and align your CV with those.
• Lindsay recommends studying the person specification and skills section on the job role profile and ensure your CV contains as many (if not all) of the skills the recruiter is looking for, and include as many keywords as possible throughout the CV.
• Suzie Henriques says you must know who you’re writing your CV for. Although your CV is about you, don’t write it for you – think about who your reader is, what they need and in doing so, demonstrate your ability to communicate clearly and tailor your message for your audience.
• Jen David recommends deleting anything irrelevant to the position and use what’s left to show exactly how you meet their needs.
• David B suggests you also tailor your cover letter to the job. Doing this with your CV and cover letter will help you stand out from other candidates and show the hiring manager that you're a good fit for the position.

Other actions you can take to tailor your CV include:

• Creating a tagline underneath?your name that matches the role you're applying for – Charlotte Spencer .
• Add a 4 to 5-line profile section under your personal details. Include your key experience relevant to the role applying to, relevant qualifications, key knowledge, relevant training, and personal attributes. This section should be succinct, interesting, and tailored to the role applying to – Laura Harmsworth .
• If you haven’t yet found an advertised role you’d like to apply to, you can still get your CV ready. Kathryn Hall suggests you research keywords in your chosen field, using job descriptions and weave these appropriately into your CV. Once you see a specific role that interests you, tailor it further to that particular job advert.

Achievements

So many CVs read like a job description and don’t tell the hiring manager what a candidate can bring to the role and company. How do you write achievements into your CV that are relevant, without feeling like you’re bragging?

• ? Adriana Kosovska advises claiming your contribution with confidence. If you have contributed to your employer’s success and goals, state it with confidence. Achievements speak to the mind and heart of every manager – they are not only interested to discover your capabilities, skills, and experience but even more how you can help them achieve their departmental and organisational goals through your work.
• If you’re not sure which achievements to include, Adriana suggests you research the company. Their social media and website can reveal to you the company’s focus, vision, and goals. Think about how your achievements fit into these e.g., reducing costs, increasing revenue, improving staff retention and team engagement, saving time, or simplifying processes. Add to your CV the ones with most impact and relevance.
• As Jen says “Show, don’t tell” – specific examples are always better than vague generalisations. ?Jen continues with how important it is to quantify whatever you can – the scope of the role, budget, direct reports, sales, sites, and savings. Suzie says to be explicit about what you delivered and how, and Amanda adds that numbers, percentages, currency, and symbols draw visual attention and help to focus the reader on what you have achieved.
• Jaqui Winston says it can help to think of your CV as a sales document selling 'brand you' and to ensure you sell the benefits to the hiring company of having you around.?This way you are far more likely to highlight your achievements rather than focus on your job description.

Profile

Typically sitting below your contact details and before the key skills section, your profile is a critical part of your CV.

• As Amanda states, on average a recruiter or HR Manager will spend approximately 7-9 seconds reviewing your CV before deciding whether to progress you to the next stage of the recruitment process.?Tailor your summary so that it speaks specifically to the desired skills and qualifications listed in the job ad.
• David S suggests adding a detail that will give you an edge, something that sets you apart from someone else e.g., are you bilingual?

Skills section

This is a really effective way of tailoring your CV, selling yourself, and adding keywords. Add this under your profile and before the career history section.

• Elizabeth suggests listing your skills (relevant to role applying to) so they pop out of the page and grab the reader’s attention. This section also helps with getting a higher score on the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
• Kathryn says this section entices people to carry on reading.
• Lindsay suggests adding a technical skills section if your job requires you to have specific skills, training, and proficiency in particular software or programmes. Check the job role profile and incorporate the systems they need you to use.
• An important point from Tracey is to highlight your transferable key skills and remember these can be gained from different aspects, not just your career e.g., caring for children, hobbies, or voluntary activities.

What about the format of your CV?

• ?Suzie’s advice is that your CV needs to be modern, eye-catching, and easy to navigate but a traditional layout that focuses on your skills, achievements, and credentials is best – avoid graphics, excessive use of colour, and those columns that make your eyes hurt.
• Debbie Dymock RCDP, MIEP agrees, recommending you stop using graphs to measure how good you are at something. They don’t work, your own evaluation of your skills is subjective, and graphics are not ATS friendly.
• Laura says to make your CV readable, ensure plenty of white space (“normal” margins), have a minimum font of 10, include clear standard headings, and avoid long paragraphs by using small circular bullets.

When less is more

Your CV should be succinct and tightly aligned to the job applying to. It can be hard to omit something that you are really proud of, but it’s not doing you any favours if it’s not relevant to the role applying to.

• Tracey says to make every word count, use space wisely, and remove irrelevant or unnecessary details.
• Debbie advises to be succinct, don’t waffle, and stop narrative writing e.g., think about how relevant your previous studies and training courses are to the role you are applying for. Is that Windows 95 certificate really necessary? Has that first aid certificate expired? Have you completed in-house training that is not recognised in a different company? Only display necessary qualifications.
• David S advises never padding your CV and sticking to pertinent content.

Language, spelling, and grammar

?An often neglected yet important area of CV writing.

• ?Charlotte suggests using clear English (avoid words you would never 'say') and Jaqui says to use language that enlivens the CV rather than being passive. For example, drove, initiated, delivered, and collaborated are dynamic words that help the reader to see what kind of employee you are and how you made a difference.
• Jacqui also says to check your spelling and punctuation and don't just rely on spell checkers that can miss errors. Common mistakes include the overuse of apostrophes (GCSE's instead of GCSEs being the worst offender!) and the word 'led' being spelt as 'lead', which would be correct if writing in the present tense,?but not in the past - when it becomes a heavy metal!

Final other important areas

• Charlotte stresses the importance of getting your personality across when writing your CV.
• Elizabeth advises being consistent throughout the CV i.e. make sure all dates are written out the same, you’re using either anglicised or American English spelling throughout, all bullet points either have or don’t have full stops at the end (either way is acceptable), your contact details and name at the top of the CV match that of the cover letter, the spacing between jobs and different sections are the same, you’re using just one font, and your punctuation is the same throughout i.e. you’re either using or not using the Oxford comma.
• Kathryn says that if you’re from a creative background put a link to your portfolio to support your CV.
• Laura includes some of the things you can omit from your CV: date of birth, full address, the title “CV”, references, marital status, religion, children.

Interview questions

Once your amazing new CV has secured you an interview, how do you prepare? Keep an eye out for our interview tips coming soon!

In the meantime Constance Johnson gives her key advice as a bit of a taster:

• How do you answer the question “Why do you think you will be successful in this job/what makes you a good candidate?”.?Match your strengths, skills, interests, and experience with the qualities to the job role and the company. Create a list of relevant accomplishments that demonstrate your skills and abilities that you are ready to share.
• Prepare questions to ask e.g., Can you tell me what the next steps are in the hiring process? When can I expect to hear back from you about whether I have landed the job??How is it working at x?

?Thank you to our contributors:

?Adriana Kosovska, Zero to Dream Job

Amanda Carpenter, AC Career Services Ltd

Charlotte Eve, C K Futures

Constance Johnson, HEART Writing Services

David Ball, Career Angel

David Smith, Careervisa

Debbie Dymock, Northamptonshire Careers

Elizabeth Openshaw, OpenDoor CV Expertise

Jaqui Winston, New CV

Jen David, CV Shed

Kathryn Hall, The Career Owl

Laura Harmsworth, Caversham CV Writing

Lindsay Fullerton, Lindsay Suzanne Career Consultancy

Suzie Henriques, The CV Bee

Tracey Salisbury, CV Prime