9 Tips to Crafting a Magnetic CV in 2024

Are you tirelessly sending out CVs, only to hear silence in return?

Cracking the CV code is getting harder!

With the barrier to entry ever widening through complicated platforms, AI, and a lack of human interaction, it has become frustrating and confidence-wrecking to attempt to seek a new role—I hear it every day.

Here are some of my top tips to crafting your CV for success:

Start Fresh

Start your CV from scratch each time you begin the search for a new job. Adding to an old CV can look mismatched, confusing the reader about your skills and intentions in a new role.

Think of the Reader

Think of who will be reading your CV – would you pick yours out of a pile of 50 for this role? Did you make it clear that you have the skills advertised in the job description? Don’t rush to submit your CV, you will only get one chance to be seen.

Address Gaps and Changes

Don’t leave the reader to make assumptions about your CV. Explain the gaps, why you moved on so soon, or why you changed industries. Ensure you are positive with the details; it will help them learn more about you.

Nail Your Profile Header

Your profile header is critical. It’s your opportunity to tell them what you can do, what you have achieved, how you did it, and how that could benefit the new employer. Don’t be shy here, make them so relevant to the targets of the role you are applying for.

Keep It Concise

If your CV includes a few short-term roles that do not match or complement the job description at all, consider leaving them out, shortening the details, or thinking about which tasks within that role could be useful for the new position and using those instead. I often see a huge amount of text relating to a totally irrelevant and very short-term role, distracting me from the gold.

Make the Matches

Your CV really has to match the job description; that includes titles, skills, qualifications, systems, and duties. Fold in the relevant keywords of your role and industry, as with AI doing a lot of the searching, it will rate you higher if you match the keywords in the job description. Be sure that it flows and is factual to your skills and experiences.

Remember, the person or bot skimming your CV is looking for keywords; they will most often not be able (or willing) to read between the lines. Review your CV against a spec like you are playing snap! The more snaps, the better.

Perfect the Presentation

Check the layout, font, spelling, and overall presentation. Bullet points are great because they allow the reader to skim through. Try to make it as easy as possible for the reader to get to the end without spotting something like a spelling mistake or font change that might stop them.

Sell Yourself

We tend to lack confidence in self-promotion, often hoping the reader will just guess that we are good. But guess what? If you don’t say it, they will assume you are not good! List out those work achievements, those things you are very proud of, received praise for, or pushed through your comfort zone to deliver to the next level.

Bonus Tip

Should the role require a qualification that you do not have but are actively pursuing and recognise as important, add in a line such as “In my next role, my objective is to gain a CIPD qualification as it is important to my career ambition to study towards this”. Whatever you don’t say will never be known (plus, AI will pick up on CIPD – a sneaky win!).

Don’t underestimate the importance of giving your CV the time and thought it needs. You only get one chance to be seen, so attention to detail is key. Taking the time to tailor it to each opportunity and reviewing and refining it will help you stay relevant and increase your chances of success.

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