Hundreds of thousands of applicants fail to hear back from even one employer, so you can rest assured that you aren’t the only one who gets only two replies after sending thirty applications. It’s most likely not the case because you are under-qualified or even unqualified. Your applications are used as covers for your underperforming CV. It is most likely too long, vague, formatted poorly, employs tricks that annoy readers, or even starts with a long, unimportant paragraph.
The good news is that most poor CVs can be fixed with a couple of serviceable tweaks. Here is what a recruiter sees, what you should include, and how you should format your CV to make life easier for recruiters and hiring managers.
Summaries are important and are read first.
Recruiters will only skim through your CV, and most of their focus is at the top. You have to make your summary compelling enough to give them a reason to continue reading. A weak summary is like this: “Motivated professional with strong communication skills seeking a role with growth opportunities” This is a poor summary. It says absolutely nothing and would at best be considered weak. A strong summary is specific. It includes the role you are in, the number of years you have done it, and a result that you have produced. An example is here:
Operations manager with 8 years in logistics. Cut fulfilment costs by 22% by redesigning the pick and pack process for a 400-person warehouse.
Hopefully, the example shows the reader the results that you have produced.
Three to four lines is typical. Provide some context around your experience and role. Include your top areas of expertise. Consider including a measurable impact in your CV.
Simplify your CV
Many organisations rely on technology to help them organise applications. The technology may vary, but complicated CVs are harder for technology to read consistently.
That doesn’t mean every CV needs to look identical. It just means clarity should come before decoration.
A few things worth being careful with:
- Complicated multi-column layouts and text boxes can sometimes create parsing issues.
- Main documents should not have hidden information. Information is considered hidden if it can only be found after unnecessary research.
- Common section headings such as Experience, Education and even Skills can help you get noticed.
- Avoid using icons or graphics as a substitute for providing important information.
- Your PDF CV should be text and not an image of the CV.
The words you use can also be a deciding factor. For example, if a description uses the word “project management” several times and that accurately describes your experience, it is usually a waste of effort to go and look for other substitute phrases.
Use simple language that describes your experience and is relevant to the role.
Choose a template you won’t resent
While not the best designer, with determination and a good template, anyone can build a nice-looking CV.Over the top design might look cool on a CV, but it makes it hard to read and can take away from the overall structure. White space and obvious section headings are crucial to the layout. It is easy to use a CV template in Google Docs for easily building CVs with a nice structure. Even if you don’t build your CV from scratch, you should still clean it up before sending it.
Delete sections you don’t need, check the spacing after replacing the sample text, and make sure none of the original placeholder content is still there. An empty “Certifications” section or forgotten sample text is a small mistake, but it’s an easy one to avoid.
Write bullets that show results, not responsibilities
This is where a lot of CVs fall flat.
People often describe what their job required instead of showing what actually happened because of their work.
Compare these two:
- “Responsible for managing social media accounts.”
- “Grew Instagram following from 4K to 31K in 14 months and doubled engagement rate through a weekly content series.”
The first describes a responsibility.
The second gives evidence of an outcome.
Try to make each bullet answer the question: “So what?”
If a useful number helps explain the result, include it. That might be a percentage, financial figure, timeframe, customer count, team size, or volume of work.
If you don’t have a number, describe the outcome concretely instead of relying on vague language.
Strong verbs can help too: built, led, launched, reduced, increased, negotiated, redesigned, automated, implemented.
Phrases such as “responsible for” usually add very little.
Keep each bullet concise enough that the result doesn’t get buried.
See how a complete CV comes together
CV advice is easier to apply once you can see how the different pieces work together on a full document.
A complete example lets you look at the summary, experience bullets, skills, spacing, and overall structure at the same time rather than treating every part as a separate rule.
A good CV example is useful for seeing how those elements can fit together in a straightforward, results-focused format.
Pay attention to what’s included, but also to what isn’t.
There’s no long objective statement, no “references available upon request”, and no oversized list of generic soft skills. The focus stays on relevant experience, results, and information that helps the reader understand the candidate quickly.
That restraint matters just as much as the wording.
A few final things people get wrong
Length. Don’t make your CV longer just because you can. One page often works well earlier in a career, while experienced candidates may genuinely need two. The important thing is that every section earns its space.
Tailoring. Sending the same CV to every role can make it harder for the reader to see why you’re a fit. You don’t need to rebuild it from scratch each time. Adjust the summary, prioritise the most relevant bullets, and use terminology that matches the position when it’s accurate.
Dates and gaps. Keep your timeline clear. Employment gaps are common, and intentionally vague dates can sometimes create more questions than they solve.
Proofreading. Read the CV once for content and again specifically for mistakes. Reading it out loud can also help catch awkward wording that your eyes might otherwise skip.
Contact info. Your name, phone number, professional email, general location, and LinkedIn profile if it’s current are usually enough. There’s generally no need to include your full home address.
Where to go from here
Your CV is a marketing document, not an autobiography.
Its job is to make it easy for an employer to understand why you’re worth interviewing.
Start with the top part of the page. Rewrite the summary so it says something specific. Then go through your experience bullets one at a time and ask what each one actually proves.
Move the strongest and most relevant information higher.
Put everything into a format that’s easy to scan and easy to understand.
Then compare the final result against both the job description and a complete CV example to see whether the most important information stands out quickly.
You don’t need to make your CV impressive to everyone.
You need to make it clear why you’re a strong candidate for the job you’re applying to.
