The next step is preparing your CV. Think of it as your passport to success. Too little detail, and your application could be rejected long before you reach the boarding gate.

Preparing your CV is all about attention to detail, and recruiters can’t stress this enough. Here are our dos and don’ts.

Make Your First Page Count

Recruiters read through hundreds of CVs, so you need to catch their attention on page one.

Recruiter Tip: Make sure your name, residential area, contact details (phone and email), highest level of education, citizenship, and value profile (a short statement on the work you do particularly well) are all listed on page one.

Use the Right Keywords

Recruitment is a game of keywords. List your skills using the correct, appropriate industry terms. This makes your CV easier to find in a pool of thousands.

Get Your Job Titles Right

Highlight your actual job titles. Don’t invent flashy titles. Recruiters search by real job titles, and if yours doesn’t match, they won’t find you.

Summarise Your Employment History and Close the Gaps

Summarise your employment history clearly. If there are gaps between jobs, don’t hide them. Explain them. Life happens, and recruiters understand that. What they don’t like is silence.

You might be surprised by what your employment history says about you.

Focus on Your Most Recent Five to Eight Years

This is your moment to shine. Detail your responsibilities and achievements from the last five to eight years, using your industry terms throughout. Roles before that period can be summarised briefly. No one has time to read a CV that runs to fourteen pages.

List Your Qualifications and Skills

Don’t hold back on qualifications. Include your formal education, certifications, and any courses relevant to the role, along with the tools, systems, or platforms you use regularly. Be specific about your level of experience with each one, whether that is basic, competent, or expert, so recruiters get an accurate picture of what you bring to the job.

Using AI to Help Prepare Your CV

Many companies now use AI powered systems to scan and shortlist CVs before a recruiter ever reads them, which is another reason the right keywords matter so much. AI writing tools can also be useful for checking your structure, spelling, and phrasing.

Recruiter Tip: Use AI as a helper, not as the author of your CV. Recruiters read hundreds of CVs a week and can often spot generic AI generated language straight away. Keep the actual content, your achievements, and your voice, genuinely your own.

Include References From Your Last Two Employers

If you can, include contact details for referees from your last two places of work. This gives recruiters a quick way to verify your recent experience, and it often speeds up the process.

Recruiter Tip: If you would rather keep this confidential for now, you can simply write “references available on request.” But where possible, providing them upfront works in your favor.

Format for Easy Reading

Use bullet points throughout. Recruiters scan CVs quickly, and bullet points make your skills and achievements easy to find.

Recruiter Tip: Recruiters see the same mistakes again and again. Read our guide on common CV mistakes to avoid before you hit send.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should my CV be?

Aim for two to three pages. Give your most recent five to eight years of experience in detail, and summarise older roles more briefly.

What if I have gaps in my employment history?

Don’t hide them. A short, honest explanation works far better than an unexplained gap.

Should I include references on my CV?

Where possible, yes. Including referees from your last two employers gives recruiters a quick way to verify your experience. If you would rather keep this confidential for now, you can write “references available on request” instead.

Is it okay to use AI to help write my CV?

Yes, as a starting point. Use it to check structure, spelling, and phrasing, but keep the actual content and voice genuinely your own. Recruiters can often spot a CV that was fully generated by AI.

Do I need to list every piece of software I have ever used?

No. Focus on the tools most relevant to the role you are applying for, and be honest about your level of experience with each one.