CV WRITING

How to tailor a CV to a vacancy

Practical general guidance. Adapt it to the vacancy and your own accurate experience.

Start with requirements

Read the vacancy and identify the essential requirements, repeated skills, responsibilities, tools and qualifications. Treat these as prompts for evidence.

Map evidence before editing

For each important requirement, identify a genuine example from work, education, volunteering or projects. If you cannot support a claim, do not add it simply because the advert uses that keyword.

Prioritise, don't rewrite everything

Adjust your profile, skills and employment bullets so the most relevant evidence is easiest to find. Unrelated experience can usually be shortened rather than removed entirely.

Final check

Compare the finished CV with the vacancy. A recruiter should be able to locate evidence for the main requirements quickly.