How to Write a CV That Gets You Hired

The Recruiter's Reality

A recruiter managing 50 open roles might receive 200 applications per role. They spend 6–10 seconds on each CV in the initial pass. In that time, they're looking for one thing: a quick signal that you're worth a closer look.

This changes how you should write your CV. You're not writing a complete employment history — you're writing a highlight reel. Every sentence should earn its place. Anything that doesn't quickly communicate your value should be cut.

Recruiters scan in a predictable pattern: name and contact info, most recent job title, most recent employer, tenure, and then bullet points. If those five signals don't catch attention, the rest won't be read.

Format & Length

Length

One page for early-career candidates (under 5 years of experience). Two pages for mid-to-senior candidates. Beyond two pages almost never adds value — it dilutes it. If you're struggling to cut, ask yourself: "Would a recruiter care about this in their first 10-second scan?"

Layout

• Single column is more ATS-friendly than multi-column layouts
• Use a clean, readable font (Arial, Calibri, Georgia) at 10–12pt
• Consistent spacing and margins — visual clutter is a red flag
• No photos, no graphics, no elaborate headers — these confuse ATS and distract from content
• Save as PDF unless the job posting specifically requests Word

File naming

Name your CV file professionally: FirstName-LastName-CV.pdf. A file called "CV_final_v3_UPDATED.pdf" tells a recruiter something about your attention to detail — and not something good.

The Essential Sections

Contact information

Name, professional email, phone number, location (city and country is enough — no full address), and a LinkedIn URL. Check that your LinkedIn profile matches your CV — inconsistencies raise questions.

Professional summary (optional but powerful)

2–3 sentences at the top that answer: who you are, what you do, and what makes you valuable. Not an objective statement ("I am seeking a role where...") — that's about what you want, not what you offer. Write it last, once you know what the rest of the CV is saying.

Work experience

Reverse chronological order. For each role: company name, your job title, location, and dates (month/year). Then 3–5 bullet points of achievements, not responsibilities. (More on this below.)

Education

Degree, institution, graduation year. If you're early in your career, education can come before experience. If you have 3+ years of work experience, it goes after. Don't include high school once you have a degree.

Skills

A concise list of technical and professional skills relevant to the role. Don't list soft skills here ("good communicator", "team player") — demonstrate those in your bullet points.

Writing Strong Bullet Points

This is where most CVs fail. The difference between a weak and strong bullet point:

The formula: Action verb + What you did + Measurable result. Not every bullet needs a percentage — but every bullet should show impact, not just activity. Use strong verbs: led, built, designed, reduced, increased, automated, negotiated, launched — not "helped with" or "was involved in".

Getting Past ATS — The Robot Gatekeeper

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are software tools that parse and filter CVs before a human sees them. Many companies use them for high-volume roles. If your CV isn't ATS-optimised, it may never reach a recruiter's desk.

How ATS works

ATS systems scan for keywords from the job description and score your CV based on how many it finds. A CV that uses different phrasing ("data visualisation" vs "Tableau dashboards") may score lower even if the skills are the same.

How to optimise

• Mirror the language from the job posting — use the same terms they use
• Include the exact job title from the posting somewhere in your CV if it matches your experience
• Spell out acronyms alongside the abbreviation: "Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)"
• Avoid tables, text boxes, and headers/footers — ATS often can't parse these correctly
• Don't use images or icons to represent skills — ATS reads text only
• Use standard section headings ("Work Experience", "Education") — creative names confuse parsers

The Cover Letter

Many people either skip cover letters or write generic ones that restate the CV. Done well, a cover letter can meaningfully differentiate you — especially in roles where communication skills matter.

A strong cover letter:

• Opens with something specific — why this company, why this role, why now
• Tells one story that the CV can't tell — the "why" behind a career move, a project you're proud of, something unique about your approach
• Is no longer than three short paragraphs
• Ends with a clear, confident close — not "I hope to hear from you" but "I'd welcome the chance to discuss this further"

Don't start with "I am writing to apply for..." — that's the most common opening in existence. Start with something that signals you've actually thought about this role.

Tailoring Your CV for Each Application

A generic CV will perform generically. The candidates who get callbacks are usually the ones who took 20 extra minutes to align their CV with the specific role.

• Re-read the job description carefully and identify the top 3-4 requirements
• Make sure your most relevant experience appears prominently — not buried on page 2
• Adjust your professional summary to reflect the specific role
• Add or emphasise keywords from the job posting in your skills and bullets
• If you have a portfolio, GitHub, or relevant work samples — link to them and mention them

Keep a "master CV" with all your experience, and create tailored versions from it for specific applications. Don't send the master CV directly — it's almost always too long and unfocused.

FAQ