Chapter 2 | Why your CV is not getting results

Start with your direction, aka ‘what job is this CV for?’

One of the most common mistakes job seekers make is trying to write one broad CV that covers every possible future option, this usually creates a document that is too vague to convince anyone, so before you write anything, you need to get clear on your direction.

Ask yourself:

What roles am I targeting?

What level am I targeting?

What industries am I open to?

Do I want to stay close to my current path or move in a new direction?

What would I like a recruiter to immediately understand about me?

You do not need to have every detail figured out, but you do need a working target; your CV needs a lane, but this does not mean you can only ever do one thing, it means the document itself must create a clear identity of who you are, what you do, and what you bring.

For example:

A person targeting Operations Manager roles needs a diHerent emphasis from someone targeting Project

Manager roles, just like a professional moving from teaching into learning and development needs diHerent positioning from someone staying in education, or a senior leader targeting director-level roles needs more focus on strategy, leadership, budget, transformation, and organisational impact than task-level delivery.

Create your target role list, write down in your workbook:

3 to 5 job titles you are targeting

Common themes across those roles

Recurring language in those job adverts

Shared expectations, skills, and responsibilities

This will become your foundation, so look for patterns in vacancies by reviewing several relevant job adverts

and ask:

What skills appear again and again?

Career Social | CV Writing Guide | For member use only

What words are repeated?

What are employers clearly looking for?

What evidence will they expect?

This helps you write a CV that sounds aligned with the market, not just reflective of your own internal language.

Top Tip: Use AI to decipher the job vacancies by uploading them to your chosen AI and asking the following

prompt: ‘Please decipher the attached job vacancies to determine the main key skill and strength areas a candidate needs to portray, the top 5 key competencies, what problems these types of roles are hired to solve?’