Quick Wins: 10 CV Tips That Actually Matter

You can find hundreds of CV tips online. Most are either obvious ("check your spelling") or useless ("use power verbs"). Here are 10 that actually make a difference when you're applying for entry-level roles.

1. Your email address matters more than you think

firstname.lastname@gmail.com. That's it. If your email address is anything involving "babe", "69", "legend", or your birth year from when you were 13, create a new one. It takes two minutes and it's the first thing an employer sees.

2. Kill the "Personal Details" table

Don't put your contact details in a table with labels like "Name:", "Address:", "Date of Birth:", "Marital Status:". Just put your name in bold at the top, your phone number and email underneath, and the town you live in. No date of birth, no marital status, no nationality, no photo.

3. Write a personal statement, not an objective

"Objective: To obtain a challenging position in a dynamic company" is meaningless. Write 2-3 sentences about who you actually are and what you're actually looking for. Be specific. Be human.

4. Don't say "responsible for" - say what you did

"Responsible for customer service" doesn't tell me anything. "Served 50+ customers per shift, resolved complaints, and trained two new team members" tells me everything.

5. You do have experience - you're just not selling it

Looked after younger siblings while a parent worked? That's responsibility, time management, and working under pressure. Volunteered at a charity shop? That's customer service, cash handling, and teamwork. Organised a school event? That's project management. Name the skills, not just the activity.

6. Ditch the generic interests

"Reading, socialising, and keeping fit" describes 90% of the population and tells an employer nothing. Either list interests that demonstrate something relevant (running a club, maintaining a blog, coaching a team) or leave the section out entirely.

7. Two pages max - one is fine

For entry-level roles, one strong page often beats two padded pages. If you're struggling to fill a page, that's fine - quality matters more than length. If you're going over two pages, you're including things that shouldn't be there.

8. ATS will read it before a human does

Large employers use software to scan CVs for keywords before anyone looks at them. Use standard section headings ("Work Experience", "Education", "Skills"), include keywords from the job ad, and keep the layout simple - no tables, no columns, no graphics.

9. Get someone else to read it

You can't proofread your own CV effectively - your brain fills in what it expects to see. Ask someone to read it and tell you: is anything unclear? Does anything sound wrong? Would you invite this person for an interview?

10. Tailor it - even slightly

At minimum, tweak your personal statement for each job. If the job ad mentions "attention to detail," make sure those words appear in your CV. If they want "team player," describe a time you worked in a team. A CV that feels written for this specific job always beats a generic one sent to fifty employers.

For the full step-by-step guide, read Writing a CV When You're Starting Out.