Is there a perfect CV? most probably not…however there are a number of ways to make sure your CV will stand out. In this day and age the majority of advertised positions are oversubscribed, in fact it is extremely unlikely to find one that isn’t. Therefore competition for jobs is rife and the margin for error is small.

Tailor to fit. It is crucial to adapt the content of your CV for each new application. Whilst the job titles and duties may not appear to vary, the companies could be drastically different. Recruiters can easily spot a CV that has no specific direction, and as result it will end up being rejected.

Be creative. Recruiters can trawl through up to 200-300 CVs a day, try and present yours with some creativity. Even a simple addition of grey shading or line partitions can improve the overall appearance.

Less is more. On average the perfect length is about 2 full pages. Recruiters and employers may only have time to spend between 30-40 seconds skim reading each CV. Therefore make sure the content is concise and relevant.

Sell yourself. Essentially a CV is a condensed story of your life. If you have studied something unusual, or taken part in an interesting event make sure to include it! Furthermore include names of key figures you have worked with that will add significance to your experience.

Think like a recruiter. If you are uploading your CV to a database ensure you maximise the prospects of selection. Many recruiters will perform a keyword search with an online database. Make sure the terminology used in your CV is not exclusive to your previous company. Do not assume that a previous job title is ubiquitous within the industry.

Last but not least…

Proof read. According to a nationwide survey of recruitment professionals carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, 47% said out of all the CVs they received, 50% contained grammatical errors. An employer is highly likely to discard a CV because of poor attention to detail.