5 Tips for a Great CV: Stand Out in a Crowded Job Market
Creating a CV requires more than just listing your experience - it requires some work on yourself. Especially if you’ve been in a role for a while, it takes extra effort to make your CV reflect the person you want to be in your next role. The fact is, recruiters and hiring managers often have only about 60 seconds to screen your CV, so it must be clear, concise, and demonstrate the value you bring to the role.
Having been on both sides of the interview process, I’ve compiled five tips to help your CV stand out:
1. Include a Short Summary at the Top that Highlights Your Ambition and Motivation
This is your introduction, and it should spark the curiosity of the hiring manager to want to learn more about you. Don’t leave them second-guessing. If you’re currently in a sales role but want to transition into accountancy, explain your motivation and ambition for the change. Unfortunately, there is still unconscious bias, so you want to make sure you’re clear about your intentions and not leave room for assumptions. The same goes for career breaks - include them and explain what you did during that time - whether it was taking care of family members, further education, travel or something else.
2. Avoid Long Sentences – One-Liners Are Best
Keep it short and simple so that a hiring manager can quickly scan your CV and match you with the role requirements. From my experience, I’ve noticed that the lower the confidence, the more text there is in the CV. Why? Because candidates want to impress by writing too much to justify their greatness. So before you start writing your role responsibilities, go into a winner mindset—confident, valuable, and ready to contribute.
Example:
Before:
Successfully led the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies, resulting in a 25% increase in brand awareness and a 15% boost in sales over 12 months.
After:
Increased brand awareness by 25% and sales by 15% in 12 months through strategic marketing.
3. Lead with Impact and Achievement
As seen from the previous example, focus on impact and achievements. Let’s take a look at another example:
Before:
Responsible for managing social media accounts and creating content to engage followers.
After:
Grew social media engagement by 40% through targeted content creation and strategy.
Do you see the difference?
You might be thinking you can’t do the same, but you can! I’ve seen my clients think the same, but by digging deeper into their work background and revamping their CVs with this approach, they received multiple interviews and job offers. By focusing on impact and achievements, you don’t have to list every responsibility you’ve had. As you can see from the example above, one line can captures a range of tasks:
Grew social media engagement by 40% through targeted content creation and strategy.
This one-liner captures a broad skill set while showing tangible results. Here's what’s included:
Content Strategy Development – Planning and implementing a content calendar tailored to audience preferences.
Content Creation – Writing, designing, and producing engaging posts, videos, or other media.
Audience Analysis – Researching and understanding the target audience to create relevant content.
Social Media Management – Managing daily posting, scheduling, and monitoring across platforms.
Performance Tracking – Analyzing metrics (engagement rates, reach, clicks) to adjust strategies.
Community Engagement – Responding to comments, messages, and fostering audience relationships.
Campaign Execution – Designing and running targeted campaigns (e.g., promotions or collaborations).
Trend Monitoring – Staying updated on social media trends and platform algorithm changes.
This one line covers a broad range of responsibilities while showing measurable success.
4. Keep Your CV to a Maximum of 2 Pages
When you focus on impact and achievements, it will be easier to keep your CV concise - 2 pages max. Remember, hiring managers don’t have time to read everything; it’s all about scanning for key points. Keeping your CV brief and focused ensures that they can quickly see your value.
5. Align Your CV with the Job Role
This is a crucial step. You need to align your CV with the specific role you’re applying for to stand a chance of getting an interview. Read the job description carefully, note the key phrases and requirements, and incorporate these into your CV. Many corporate roles are now scanned by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), so it’s even more important to include relevant keywords and phrases from the job posting.
Before sending out applications, pause and ask yourself:
What roles do I really want to apply for?
Am I making small tweaks for similar roles, or bigger changes for a career pivot?
A personalized job search takes effort and time, so it’s important to be clear on the roles you truly want to pursue first. This focus will help you be more efficient and increase your chances of success.
Job search is a full-time job, so take the time to reflect before sending out your standard CV to every job posting you see.
If you’re looking for a new role in the same field, a few tweaks to your CV might be all you need.
If you’re making a career change, it will take more effort, but don’t forget - you have transferable skills that can make this transition possible. Even with 5-10 years of experience, you have a wealth of transferable skills you may not even be aware of.
If you’re at the start of your career, lead with your education, volunteer work, and soft skills.
There’s a process behind CV creation - it’s about owning and showcasing your experience.
Understanding your strengths and values will boost your confidence and motivation to pursue the opportunities that are right for you.
If you’re ready to rise to your potential and explore what’s possible for your career, I’m here to support you on that journey. Book a free 15-minute discovery call with me today.
Have a question? Reach out to me at hello@spelacoaching.com.
