Complete CV writing guide

Start with the target

Choose a job family and seniority level. Collect several representative vacancies and note the repeated responsibilities, tools and outcomes. This gives you a factual vocabulary for the document and prevents a generic CV that tries to suit every job.

Turn responsibilities into evidence

For each recent role, describe the situation, your action and the result. Numbers are useful when they are truthful, but scope can also be shown through team size, customer type, geography, complexity, frequency or turnaround time.

• Begin bullets with a clear action
• Name the object of the work
• Finish with the business or service outcome

Edit in three passes

First check accuracy and missing facts. Next remove repetition and vague phrases. Finally test layout, spelling and reading order in the exported PDF. A focused two-page CV is normally more persuasive than a longer document full of low-value history.