Tips from the Career Coaches: How To Tailor A CV for Specific Jobs

The number of people that have said to me, ‘I could do that job, but I didn’t even get shortlisted!’ My reply: ‘I know you can do that job. You know that you can do that job, everyone else that has applied can probably do that job, but the imperative question here is, does your CV demonstrate that you can do that job - and do that job better than the competition? And do you know how to tailor a CV?

Fair question. Only easier said than done, right?

The secret is: you just need to know how to play the system…

Remember, recruiters will make shortlisting decisions based on the evidence and information presented at that time. They will not know what you do not tell them. It is easy to fall into the ’assumptions trap’ at this juncture, so be careful. Just because you know what your company does, do not assume everyone else will. Hiring managers will make decisions based wholly on what information is presented to them. You know you are brilliant for this role. And guess what, it is down to you to provide a compelling and convincing proposition as to why you are worth shortlisting.

The information you provide to decision-makers fuels their mindset, emotions and gut-feel - if of course, they are actually human decision-makers. Remember, decision-makers can also be in the form of automated ‘bots’ reading and scanning your details, albeit in a similar way, for keywords, phrases, dates and language patterns. A gut feel is essentially a human algorithm after all. CVs are not actually read – they are scanned, whether by a human or a bot. It’s a bit like search engine optimisation but for CVs instead of web-pages.

Whether human or AI – scanning involves a structured decision-making process to determine whether you land in the ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ pile. So how do you tailor a CV and convince any recruiter that your application is one for the ‘yes’ pile? To do that, we need to look a little closer at the short-listing process.

Let’s turn this around, imagine you’re a hiring manager shortlisting candidates for a role. How are you going to do this? What will you look for in a CV or application? What are your essential qualifiers for an ideal fit for the role? I am going to repeat this as this is important – what are the essential qualifiers? Not to be confused with the nice-to-haves. Typically, a qualifier would include location (are you in the right geography); package (are you affordable); and industry/work experience. This is the qualifier that is explored the most and crucial to your application. Any role, whatever it might be, will have pre-determined key qualifiers.

These tips will ensure you present yourself as best as you possibly can for the role you are applying for and teach you how to tailor a CV for each specific job you apply for no matter how diverse and varied your career choices are.

10 out of 10 Boxes Ticked

Pay very close attention to any information you have concerning the role, such as the job advert, the person spec or a probing conversation with the recruitment contact. Understand what the hiring manager’s key industry experience qualifiers are for each specific role - and then be sure to include and evidence them in your application. You can then look to leverage your application by ensuring all your relevant experience, knowledge and expertise is reflected in your application and tailored CV.

Evidence is everything and assume nothing.

Ideally, you want to be ticking (and matching) ten out of ten boxes.

Remember, you are competing - except in this race you do not know who the competition is! I know it seems a little unfair when you cannot even see the whites of their eyes or weigh up the competition. So you have to work a little harder to compete in this race. Be more tactical. Winners tick more boxes.

It is All About Evidence

Evidence is like great big red arrows pointing to that part of your career and screaming, ‘Look! I did this and I did it well’. Evidence supports your cause and not only demonstrates that you have the relevant experience recruiters are looking for, but also demonstrates how you have positively contributed to the workplace. Evidence lifts a routine task off the page and provides gravitas to a sweeping statement. Evidence provides more confidence in your ability to do a job, more credibility in the statement in your tailored CV and chips away at reducing the risk in employing you. Remember, employers want to be assured that you can hit the ground running and make that positive, immediate impact. They do not like taking risks – the more you can evidence you are less of a risk, the more likely your CV will gravitate towards the YES pile.

The Assumption Trap

And then you are faced with the biggest threat of all that permeates the entire recruitment process. Candidates, recruiters, interviewers and hiring managers are all guilty of this, sometimes consciously and sometimes unwittingly. That is to make assumptions; to ‘fill in the gaps’ and to ‘suppose’. CVs should answer questions, not create them. And in recruitment, there are many ‘default’ assumptions - particularly when people are interpreting your CV, for example:

• No dates on your career history – they’re hiding something – job hopping, failing probation?
• No earlier career history – they were probably out of work
• Gaps in your CV – always creates suspicion. Had they been sacked or made redundant? What went wrong? Have they been in prison?!
• No location - you are not local. Distance could be an issue (even in these days of more remote and flexible working).

Mirror Keywords in your CV

Tailor your CV and application with the qualifier keywords found in the role information, and make sure you provide success stories to evidence the personal contribution in the workplace that you made. Provide more information than just the task. Your evidence should bring the task alive. Your success stories often include useful keywords and desirable experience, not necessarily requested anyway, but will appeal to the recruiter or hiring manager. Again, helping to tip the balance in your favour and secure your place in the ‘yes’ pile.

10 Top Tips for Tailoring Your CV

• If you are studying for a required qualification but not yet awarded – do not hold off displaying this in your CV. Evidence this qualification as ‘Studying [qualification name] and due for completion [date]’.
• Have a look at online training sites such as Udemy and Skillshare. Great skills websites for short-circuiting a new skill and receiving top-line training. It may not be the full qualification, but it is a quick way to learn new skills and get this represented in your PDR/training section of your CV.
• Obtain colleague testimonials to evidence particular skills and success stories, which you can reference as you tailor your CV.
• If the role is advertised, sometimes you can see the advert keywords which is a great steer.
• Use the job title of the job you are applying for, to describe what you are. Define your area of specialism in your headline statement. For example, if you are applying for a Production Manager role in the Manufacturing Sector – then describe yourself as this. Tag this strapline next to your name in your CV and then describe yourself as this in the first line of your professional summary. Make it as easy as possible for recruiters or bots to match you in a search and very quickly understand what you are.
• Make sure your skills profile list includes all relevant keywords (and qualifiers).
• Your CV should not be a list of tasks – elaborate to include what you did with each task, and what results you achieved– this helps provide essential evidence, build trust and include supplementary skills and experience.
• Speak the same language as the reader. But be careful not to use internal language only used within your organisation. Unfamiliar language is a turn-off in a CV as are cliches and buzzwords. But specific related industry language tailored into your CV illustrates knowledge and familiarity.
• Do not be afraid to boast about your career. That’s exactly what your CV is for; but don’t waffle, keep it concise.
• Avoid offbeat job titles in your CV and standardise where possible – ‘Customer Service Representative’ is more likely to be searched for and understood than ‘Customer Service Guru’. Tangible differences here might just affect which pile you end up in. Make sure that by tailoring your CV it stands out for the right reasons.

In conclusion, the one constant here is how brilliant you are. The variable is – how do recruiters know you are brilliant and a perfect fit for them? Now go back and look at your CV – does it truly reflect your brilliance? If you were screening CVs and knew nothing about you, would you employ you based solely on the information in your CV? Does it evidence all the ‘good stuff’ in your career and all the information a hiring manager really wants to know, or is it just a list of tasks, that you would expect anyone in your professional to be doing – i.e. ordinary?

The secret is, like I mentioned, knowing how to play the system. An average application equals an average candidate. A well thought out application shows a great fit candidate.

Do not underestimate the power of the information you provide. It could unlock the next step in your career and that all important job offer.

Ready to Apply for Jobs with Your Updated CV?

Now that you know how to tailor a CV and catch the eye of hiring managers, take the next step and create a profile with Monster. Once you're set up, you can apply to the latest job openings immediately. You'll also receive job opening and application updates, connect with recruiters and much more.

Ginnie Riley is a Career Coach at Randstad RiseSmart.