Your CV is the opening stage of any recruitment process and acts as your first impression to the recruiter. Demonstrating your experiences and qualifications whilst bring forward the skills that make you the right candidate for a role.

If you want to create a winning CV, check out this video guide from StandOut CV.

Do your research

Before putting together your CV, research the industry you’re applying to. Review job descriptions, company websites as well as company social media accounts and pinpoint key requirements and essential skills.

Feed your research into your CV, providing examples that match the skills required and tailoring your experiences. Custom fit your CV to that industry, showcasing to a recruiter how you fit a specification.  

Structure and format your CV

A strong structure and CV format will elevate your CV and allow a recruiter to easily navigate your experiences and quickly identify your suitability for a role.

Have a professional and crisp format using bold headers, clearly define sections and a muted colour scheme.

Head with a punchy profile

Your CV opening should be engaging and highlight your relevancy for the sector you’re applying to. A punchy profile should summarise your experiences, qualifications as well as emphasising your strengths.

Your profile should be a paragraph no longer than 5-10 lines, enticing a recruiter at the top of the page to delve deeper into your experiences.

Showcase your skills through role descriptions 

Break your role descriptions into clearly defined sections starting with a brief summary, progressing to the roles and responsibilities in that position using bullet points.

Describe specific examples, highlight the skills you obtained within each role and demonstrate how these strengths can transition into a new position. Don’t merely state your applicable skills but instead feature how you have displayed and developed these skills throughout your employment.

Andrew Fennell is an experienced recruiter and founder of CV Advice Centre StandOut CV and a regular contributor to sites such as CV Library, The Guardian and Business Insider. Check out Andrew’s School Leaver CV guide with example CV for more guidance in creating your own winning CV.