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What Makes a CV Good? 8 Signs to Know

When an employer opens up your CV, they’re looking for evidence that you can step into their job and succeed.

The factors that make a CV good are details about past work and accomplishments, particularly past work and experience that relates to this employer’s job.

That’s basically an overview of what makes a CV good, but how can you know if yours is good enough? And what can you do if you’re looking to improve your CV?

Here are some signs that you’ve got a good CV.

1. It’s getting you job interviews

The most effective way to know, “Is my CV good?” is to look at the results it’s getting (assume you’ve been applying for jobs already).

Your CV has one main goal: To get you invited to the interview. So if that’s happening, it’s a strong sign that your CV is great already.

If you’re struggling to get job interviews, or not getting any at all, then your CV is the first place you should look to improve.

Fortunately, the rest of the items on this list will not only help you figure out what makes a CV good, but also give you ideas of exactly what to change/fix if you’re not getting interviews yet.

So let’s keep going…

2. Contains data and metrics instead of only text

One of the best ways tmake your CV stand out is to include numbers, metrics, and data, rather than just text.

Putting numbers catches the eye and makes the CV more interesting and therefore more likely to get read closely!

And you don’t need to be working in sales to add numbers. Practically anyone can do it.

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3. Focused on results, not responsibilities

Don’t use the phrase “Responsible for” on a CV. It’s not impressive. It doesn’t tell the employer anything about how you performed in the role, how you helped your employer, or what you did.

So try to start your bullets and descriptions of your past jobs with verbs, like “Grew,” “Led,” “Organized,” etc.

That’s how to win over a hiring manager in the first few seconds of them reading your CV!

4. Well-spaced and easy to skim

Here’s another thing employers don’t like (and a sign your CV isn’t good enough to send out yet): Huge paragraphs with no spacing.

Put more white space. Make it easy to skim and inviting to read, and you’ll get more interviews.

Consider splitting up large paragraphs, or better yet – turn them into bullets.

5. Tailored to the job

This is one of the most important factors in terms of what makes a good CV. Yet many job seekers skip this and lose out on interviews because of it.

Employers are reading your CV with their specific job requirements in mind.

So if you’re not adapting your CV based on their job description, you might be losing out on interviews.

If you’re not getting job interviews and not tailoring your CV, this is something to fix immediately.

6. Keyword-optimized

You should always write your CV for a real person since that’s who will make the final decision, but you still need to make sure it’s going to get past online application systems.

So make sure you’re including keywords on your CV from the job description. You can do this in your work history, your skills section, or your intro/summary paragraph.

7. Error-free

You can also lose out on interviews if your CV has typos or obvious errors.

Here are two proofreading tricks if you have to do it yourself:

Temporarily change the font to something unusual. This helps you spot errors.

Read each line from the bottom upward, instead of starting at the top. This also helps.

Don’t just check the wording, either, make sure fonts and formatting are consistent, too.

Don’t switch fonts mid-way through the document.

While having an error-free CV isn’t enough to get you the job on its own, it’s an important component of any great CV.

8. Modern and professional-looking

You should make sure that your CV has a modern, professional-looking design. Don’t go overboard with colors and design elements to the point that it’s distracting, but do try to make sure it looks like it was recently created and is up-to-date.

Finally,

The best way to know if you have a good CV is to look at whether you’re getting job interviews. This is your CV’s main job – to get you invited to interviews.

If that’s not happening, then something needs to change (either the CV itself, the types of jobs you’re applying for, or how you’re applying. Reach out for a free CV review where a professional CV writer can vet how good your CV really is.

3 Comments

  1. More than 3 years now since you wrote me a professional CV. I have been applying for jobs and been getting interviews. Thanks for a good job.

  2. Is it possible to edit my cv so as to stand out and get a copy as well,

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