Your CV is one of the most important documents when applying for jobs. It’s your chance to showcase your skills, experience and achievements to potential employers. However, generic CVs sent out to every job rarely get results. To stand out, you need to tailor your CV specifically for each role and industry you apply for. This shows employers you have the exact skills and background they are looking for.
Here’s how to tweak your CV for every job application.
Research the Role and Company
The first step is thoroughly researching the role, company and industry you are applying to. Look at the job description and highlight all the key skills, qualifications and experience required. Check the company website and literature and make notes on their business, products/services, values and clients. Look at similar roles advertised by competitors to identify wider industry needs.
This research gives you an insight into exactly what the employer wants. You can then use a free CV maker to shape your CV around their specific needs. Subtly weaving in keywords and requirements from the job ad, company blurb and industry trends shows you fit the role perfectly.
Emphasise Relevant Skills and Experience
With an understanding of what the employer is looking for, you can emphasise the most relevant parts of your background. This means tweaking the order and focus of each section in your CV for each application.
For example, if you are applying for a marketing role, put your marketing qualifications, experience and skills first. Expand on marketing campaigns and projects you have worked on. Use key marketing metrics like increases in engagement or sales to quantify your achievements. Remove irrelevant experience like catering jobs.
For a corporate finance role, move your accounting training and commercial experience to the top. Use figures to impress, such as the value of deals you have done or budgets managed. Delete unrelated creative projects.
The idea is to draw the recruiter’s eye to your most applicable credentials for that particular job.
Use Industry Jargon and Keywords
Familiarise yourself with the typical language used in the industry you are applying to. For example, IT roles reference technical skills like programming languages and platforms. Healthcare uses clinical terminology. Finance and legal roles use formal language.
Incorporate appropriate industry keywords, acronyms, qualifications and technical terms into your CV. This shows you speak the same language as the employer and understand the role. Just be careful not to overdo jargon and impact readability. Strike the right balance relevant to each industry.
You can reference industry keywords directly from the job advert. Recruiters often search CVs for these same terms, so including them increases your chances of being noticed.
Adapt Your Personal Profile
Your personal or professional profile is a short introductory paragraph on your CV summarising your skills and experience. This needs to be re-written for each role to match the company’s needs.
For example, if you are applying for a customer service job, focus your profile on interactions with clients and your passion for delivering excellent service. For a B2B branding agency, concentrate on your design abilities and marketing qualifications.
Let your profile set the tone for a tailored CV focused on that industry or job position. Keep it concise and impactful.
Make Your CV Visually Appealing
Along with the content, you also need to adapt the design of your CV for each industry you apply to. Conservative fields like law, finance and the public sector suit simple, formal CVs with minimal formatting. Creative industries can handle more visual flair like infographics, charts and colour.
Research typical CV designs in your target industry and mimic the common style. Steer clear of unusual fonts, colours or layouts unless you are confident they align to that sector. Fitting the expected visual mould projects professionalism.
Check for Errors
Before sending each tailored CV, meticulously check for any errors. Typos and mistakes will undermine all your hard work customising the content for the role.
Read your CV backwards line-by-line to spot typos your brain autocorrects when reading normally. Ask someone else to proofread too. Verify all facts and figures quoted. Check for consistency of verb tenses, punctuation and formatting.
Submitting a sloppy CV full of obvious errors will destroy your credibility.
Customising your CV is essential to get noticed and stand out from other applicants is vital. Taking the time to tweak the content, structure and design for every job shows employers your specific suitability to their needs.
