How to Tailor Your CV for Different Jobs

 There are so many articles out there as to how to create the perfect CV, and lots of them mention that you should tailor your CV to the specific job you’re applying for. How do you do that and what does that mean? Does it mean starting from scratch with a blank CV for every job you want to apply for? Surely that’s not feasible? Tailoring your CV is about avoiding the scattergun approach when applying for jobs – it’s about demonstrating that you’ve read the job description and you understand the qualities and skills an employer is looking for. It’s about having a loose, flexible template that you can tweak to mirror the language of the job you’re applying for (because, seriously, who has the time to re-write their CV every time they apply for a job?). Here is the advice that I regularly give my Hospitality & Healthcare candidates when it comes to having a stand out CV. Read the job description If you don’t know where to start re-read the job description. Pick out 3-5 key skills they are asking for/you think will be required for the role and come up with relevant examples of when you have used these skills. Add those examples to your CV either under your work experience or as a separate candidate profile. Mind your language Look at the language used in the advert, the company website/media as well as the level of role you are applying for. Match this tone in your CV. Be relevant Make sure your work experience is relevant to the role you’re applying for and include more detail for similar roles. For completely different roles, focus more on the responsibilities and your transferable skills rather than duties. For example, a care home manager will want to hear about the type of person you were previously caring for and your specific duties if you are applying to be a carer there. If you previously worked at a café, they don’t want to hear about the specific duties you had opening up, taking deliveries, turning on machines etc but something like ‘keyholder responsibilities’ demonstrates trust and responsibility. Research Have a quick look on the company’s website or social media. Have they listed a particular set of values they subscribe to? How could you convey that you are an attitudinal fit for those values on your CV? Give practical examples where appropriate. Check and double check Go back and compare the job advert to your CV. Have they said that being a driver is an essential part of the role? Have you listed that you can drive as part of your additional information / skills on your CV? The employer has put that specification in the advert for a reason. It’s a crowded market for both Hospitality & Healthcare roles just now, but we’re here to support our candidates no matter what stage of their career they find themselves at. Click here to drop me an email and get in touch – I’d be happy to chat through the roles we have available at the moment.