Recruiters now spend an average of only seven seconds reviewing each CV for a job posting, highlighting the urgent need to make a strong impression immediately. However, achieving this is challenging, as evidenced by a knowledge gap identified by experts at FutureLearn, who noted a 150% increase in searches for “how to write a CV” over the past three months.

Here we look at some top tips to make your CV as effective as possible.

Length of CV

A survey by recruitment experts revealed that 91% of recruiters believe the ideal CV should be two pages long, so it's crucial to keep it concise. With just a few seconds to make an impression, focusing on quality over quantity is essential. If your CV feels too lengthy but you don't want to omit important details, consider applying these three quick formatting tips. Ensure you have a clear layout and reduce the font size of your document, making sure it remains readable; a font size of 11 or 12 is generally ideal for CVs.

Order of presentation

Previous research has shown that 50% of recruiters regard a logical presentation order as the most crucial aspect of a CV. While it's important to include as much relevant information as possible, make sure your CV is clear and not overwhelming. Incorporate whitespace into your layout and use clear headers for each section to guide the reader effectively.

Ensure you include your name and contact details, education and qualifications and employment history. The latter should be arranged in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent position. For each job, list your job title, the company name, the dates of employment, and a brief summary of your role. Below this, include three to four bullet points highlighting the skills you acquired and the achievements you accomplished in that position. Incorporate specific figures and results to illustrate the impact you made.

Importance of keywords

Review job advertisements for the positions you're interested in and identify any keywords and phrases that appear frequently. These terms often represent the key skills recruiters seek when evaluating candidates. Extract these relevant, role-specific terms and incorporate them into your CV where applicable, such as in your skills section or when describing your past achievements in your employment history.

Include your right skills

You can either dedicate a separate section of your CV to highlight your skills or integrate them into your experience section. If you're short on space, blending these skills with your job descriptions can help save space. If you're moving to a new industry or have limited experience, make sure to emphasise your transferable skills near the top of your CV and provide details on how they are relevant to the new role.

Moreover, research indicates that nearly 90% of job seekers make at least one avoidable mistake on their CV, highlighting the importance of thorough proofreading. Ensure you review your CV multiple times, and then have someone else proofread it as well to catch any errors you might have missed!

Good luck!