Learn how to write a CV or resume that gets interviews. Step-by-step guide with expert tips for ATS optimisation, professional formatting, and standing out in seconds.
Here's what happens when a recruiter opens your CV: they scan it for about 7 seconds before deciding whether to read further or move on.
That's not hyperbole. Eye-tracking studies consistently show initial CV screening happens in 7 to 11 seconds. And that's only if your CV makes it past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in the first place. 75% of CVs are filtered out by ATS before a human ever sees them.
Having reviewed hundreds of CVs as part of hiring teams, I can tell you what makes or breaks that 7-second window: professional presentation. Less than 10% of CVs I received looked professionally typeset. The rest were thrown together in Word with inconsistent fonts, awkward spacing, and layouts that screamed "I didn't put much effort into this."
The uncomfortable truth? Qualified candidates get filtered out because their CV looks sloppy. Someone with exactly the right skills never gets a real look because their first impression failed.
This guide will show you how to write a CV that survives both filters: the ATS algorithm and the 7-second human scan.
A Note on Terminology
CV or resume? It depends where you're applying:
UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand: "CV" is standard for all job applications
US and Canada: "Resume" for business roles; "CV" reserved for academic positions
Globally: The terms are increasingly interchangeable
This guide uses both terms, as they refer to the same document for most job seekers. What matters isn't what you call it; it's what's in it.
Before we get into content, let's address something most CV guides skip: visual quality.
When a recruiter opens your CV and sees polished typography, consistent spacing, and a clean layout, you've already signalled something important: you pay attention to detail. Visual presentation creates an immediate impression before they've read a single word.
The opposite is also true. Awkward line breaks, inconsistent bullet points, fonts that don't quite work together. These small things create a subliminal impression of carelessness. And in a 7-second scan, impressions are everything.
The Problem with Word Documents
Most people write their CV in Microsoft Word. It's familiar and accessible. But Word wasn't designed for professional typesetting:
Spacing and alignment can shift when opened on different devices
Tables and text boxes (common in templates) often break ATS parsing
This is why tools like JobSprout exist. JobSprout uses Typst, the modern successor to LaTeX, to produce CVs with professional typesetting: perfect spacing, elegant typography, and ATS-friendly structure, without requiring any design skills from you. You get the visual polish of a professionally typeset document while focusing entirely on your content. See real CV examples in our template gallery to understand what professional presentation looks like.
What Professional Typesetting Gets You
Perfect spacing: Consistent margins, line heights, and section breaks
Professional typography: Balanced fonts, proper kerning, optical alignment
Clean hierarchy: Information flows naturally from most to least important
ATS compatibility: Clean structure that parses correctly
First impression: Signals attention to detail before they read a word
Choose the Right Format
There are three main CV formats. The choice affects how recruiters perceive your experience and how easily ATS systems can parse your information.
Chronological (Best for 90% of Job Seekers)
Lists work history in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position.
Use this format if you have:
Consistent work history in your field
Clear career progression
Recent experience relevant to the role
Why it works: This is what recruiters expect and what ATS systems parse best. It clearly shows your career trajectory.
Functional (Skills-Based)
Organises your CV around skills and accomplishments rather than job history.
Use this format if you:
Are changing careers entirely
Have significant employment gaps
Are entering the workforce with limited experience
Caution: Many hiring managers are sceptical of functional CVs because they can obscure gaps or lack of direct experience. Use only when necessary.
Combination (Hybrid)
Leads with a skills section, then includes chronological work history.
When applying internationally, research local expectations.
Professional Email
If your current email is unprofessional, create a new one. Around 3 in 10 resumes are discarded by recruiters for having an unprofessional email address, an entirely avoidable reason to lose out.
Write Your Professional Summary
A professional summary is a 2-4 sentence overview at the top of your CV that captures your most relevant qualifications.
Summary vs. Objective
Professional Summary
Career Objective
Highlights what you offer the employer
Describes what you want from the job
Focuses on past achievements
Focuses on career goals
Best for experienced professionals
Best for career changers or new graduates
Why it matters: Professional summaries focus on what you bring to the employer, while objectives focus on what you want. Lead with value, not with your own goals.
Marketing professional with 6+ years' experience driving growth for B2B technology companies. Expertise in demand generation, content strategy, and marketing automation. Led campaigns generating £1.8M in pipeline with 180% increase in qualified leads.
For a Graduate (Objective format):
Recent Computer Science graduate from University of Manchester seeking a software engineering role. Strong foundation in Python and JavaScript through academic projects and a summer internship at a fintech startup.
Summary Mistakes
Starting with "I am..." (reads as amateur)
Vague claims like "hardworking team player" (proves nothing)
Making it too long (3-4 sentences maximum)
Including irrelevant personal details
Using AI to Refine Your Summary
Writing about yourself is hard. This is where AI tools genuinely help, not by generating generic content, but by helping you articulate what you already know.
With JobSprout, you can write your first draft and then use the AI Writer to refine specific phrases. Select a sentence that feels clunky, tell it to make it "more confident" or "more concise," and it executes exactly that. You stay in control of your story while getting help with the phrasing.
Detail Your Work Experience
This is the most important section. It's where recruiters spend the most time and where you prove you can do the job.
Structure Each Role
Job title
Company name and location
Dates (Month Year – Month Year or Year – Year)
3-6 bullet points describing achievements
The Achievement Formula
Action Verb + Task + Result
Don't just list duties. Show what you accomplished.
Weak:
Responsible for managing social media accounts
Strong:
Grew Instagram following from 5K to 50K in 8 months through data-driven content strategy, increasing engagement rate by 340%
Quantify Everything
Numbers make achievements concrete and memorable:
Revenue generated or costs saved
Percentage improvements
Team sizes managed
Customers or users impacted
Time saved or efficiency gains
Projects delivered
Examples:
"Increased sales by 35% (£1.2M) in first year"
"Reduced customer churn by 28% through improved onboarding"
"Managed team of 8 engineers delivering 12 features per quarter"
"Processed 500+ customer enquiries weekly with 98% satisfaction"
Strong Action Verbs
Strong action verbs make your achievements concrete and memorable. Start each bullet with verbs like:
Include the percentage if it's close to the boundary (e.g., "2:2 (58%)")
Omit the classification entirely
Note mitigating circumstances if relevant
Tip: Whatever you choose, be consistent throughout your CV.
For Experienced Professionals
Keep education brief. Omit grades and dates if you've been working for 10+ years.
MBA, Finance - London Business School
BSc Economics - University of Edinburgh
International Degrees
If your qualification is from another country, consider noting the UK or local equivalent to help recruiters understand the level. Services like UK NARIC provide official comparisons.
Highlight Your Skills
Your skills section helps you pass ATS screening and gives recruiters a quick capability snapshot.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
Hard Skills
Soft Skills
Technical, teachable abilities
Interpersonal and transferable
Can be measured or certified
Harder to quantify
Examples: Python, Excel, SQL, AutoCAD
Examples: Leadership, Communication
Include prominently
Demonstrate through achievements instead
Rather than listing "excellent communication skills," show it: "Presented quarterly results to board of 12 executives" demonstrates communication better than claiming it.
6-12 skills is optimal. More dilutes impact; fewer may seem light.
Note for technical roles: Software engineers and similar roles often list more skills, as employers expect familiarity with a wide range of tools and technologies. If you're including a longer list, make sure you can speak confidently about each one, and brush up on the skills most relevant to the role, as these are likely to be probed in interviews.
Skills to Leave Off
These are assumed in 2026 and waste space:
Microsoft Office / Google Workspace (unless specifically required)
Email
"Basic computer skills"
Internet research
Focus on skills that differentiate you from other candidates.
Optional Sections That Add Value
These aren't required, but can strengthen your application when relevant.
Certifications
Professional certifications that validate expertise:
AWS Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional
PMP (Project Management Professional)
CPA, ACCA (accounting)
Industry-specific credentials
Projects
Valuable for tech roles, recent graduates, or career changers:
Personal projects demonstrating skills
Open source contributions
Freelance work with measurable outcomes
Academic capstone projects
Volunteer Work
Shows character and can demonstrate relevant skills:
Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
Choose simple fonts (Arial, Calibri, Georgia)
Save as PDF or .docx (check job posting preference)
Use standard bullet points
Keep single-column layout
Don't:
Use tables or multiple columns (ATS can misparse)
Put critical info in headers or footers
Use graphics, icons, or images
Use text boxes
Use unusual fonts or special characters
Keyword Strategy
Read the job description carefully
Identify required skills, qualifications, and keywords
Include exact matches where you genuinely have the skill
Place keywords in multiple sections (summary, skills, experience)
If the posting says "experience with Salesforce CRM," use "Salesforce CRM" exactly, not just "Salesforce" or "CRM software."
The Balance
After passing ATS, your CV still needs to impress a human in 7 seconds. Don't optimise so heavily for keywords that it becomes unreadable. Professional presentation still matters.
This is where purpose-built CV tools help.JobSprout's templates are designed to be both ATS-friendly and visually polished: clean structure that parses correctly, elegant typography that impresses humans.
Tailor Your CV for Each Application
Generic CVs get filtered out. Hiring managers look for signs that you've actually researched the role and company. Personalisation signals genuine interest.
This doesn't mean rewriting from scratch for every application. It means:
Quick Tailoring Checklist
Mirror keywords from the job description in your summary and skills
Reorder bullets to lead with the most relevant achievements
Adjust your summary to emphasise what this role requires
Toggle sections on or off based on relevance
How CV Builders Make This Easier
Managing multiple CV versions in Word is tedious. Every tweak risks breaking formatting, and tracking versions becomes chaotic.
Drag and drop sections to reorder for different applications
Toggle sections on or off without deleting content
Real-time preview shows exactly what the PDF looks like as you edit
Multiple documents in one place, all using the same underlying profile
You spend time on substance, not wrestling with formatting.
Using AI to Tailor Content
Need to rephrase a bullet point to better match a job description? With JobSprout's AI Writer, select the specific text you want to adjust, tell it what you need ("make this more relevant to product management" or "emphasise the leadership aspect"), and it executes. You're not generating generic content, you're refining your authentic experience.
For cover letters, JobSprout's Deep Research feature takes this further: it searches the web to gather real information about the company and role, then uses that context to help generate genuinely personalised content.
Final Checks
Before submitting, verify everything is polished.
Proofreading
Run spell check (but don't rely on it alone)
Read out loud to catch awkward phrasing
Check commonly confused words (their/there, your/you're, affect/effect)
Verify company names are spelled correctly
Consistency
Date formats match throughout (Jan 2024 vs January 2024, pick one)
Bullet point style is uniform
Font sizes are consistent across sections
Tense is correct (past for previous roles, present for current)
Accuracy
All dates are correct
Job titles match what's on LinkedIn/your records
Metrics are accurate and can be defended in interviews
Contact information is current
Get a Second Opinion
Have someone else review your CV:
A friend for general readability
A colleague in your industry for relevance
A career coach for professional feedback
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Poor Visual Presentation
Impact: Signals lack of attention to detail in the crucial first impression
Fix: Use professional formatting with consistent spacing and typography. Purpose-built CV tools like JobSprout handle this automatically through professional typesetting.
2. Not Tailoring for the Role
Impact: ATS rejection; recruiter sees lack of genuine interest
Fix: Customise keywords, reorder bullets, and adjust your summary for each application.
3. Listing Duties Instead of Achievements
Impact: Looks like everyone else; doesn't show value delivered
Fix: Address gaps briefly and honestly (caregiving, education, travel, personal development).
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a CV be?
One page for early career (under 10 years of relevant experience).
Two pages for mid-to-senior professionals with substantial experience.
The "one page only" rule is outdated. What matters is that every line adds value. A two-page CV with relevant content beats a cramped one-page CV.
Should I include a photo?
UK, US, Australia: No. Photos can introduce bias and aren't expected.
Germany: Yes, it's often expected.
Other countries: Research local norms.
CV or resume: which should I use?
Use "CV" when applying in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Use "resume" for US and Canadian business roles. The documents themselves are essentially identical for most job seekers.
How far back should my CV go?
10-15 years is the general guideline. Older experience can be summarised or omitted if not relevant to your target direction.
Should I use a CV template?
Yes, templates ensure consistent formatting and save time. But avoid overly designed templates that may confuse ATS systems. JobSprout uses professional typesetting (Typst) that produces beautiful documents while maintaining ATS compatibility. Browse our CV template gallery to see examples of what's possible.
Do I need a different CV for each job?
Ideally, yes. At minimum, adjust your summary and skills to reflect keywords from each job description. Reorder experience bullets to lead with the most relevant achievements. Tools like JobSprout's one-click job tailoring can automate this: paste a job description and your CV is rewritten to match the role, with a word-level diff preview so you see every change.
Is the "skills-based" functional CV ever appropriate?
Use with caution. It can help career changers or those with gaps, but many recruiters view it sceptically. A combination format is often a better choice, as it showcases skills prominently while still showing chronological work history.
Can I use AI to write my CV?
AI tools are most effective when they enhance your authentic voice rather than replace it. Generic, obviously AI-generated content is a red flag for many recruiters.
The key is control. Tools that let you write your content and then use AI to refine specific sections (making a phrase more confident, tightening a wordy sentence, strengthening action verbs) give you the benefits of AI while keeping your CV genuinely yours.
Your CV Is Your First Impression
In 7 seconds, recruiters form an opinion about you. In those 7 seconds, they're asking:
Does this look professional?
Is this person detail-oriented?
Did they put effort into this?
A well-written, professionally presented CV answers all three positively before they've read a single bullet point.
The content matters. Your achievements, your experience, your skills: these are what ultimately get you the job. But they need to be presented in a way that survives ATS screening and makes a strong first impression in those critical seconds.
Ready to Build Your CV?
If you want professional typesetting without the effort, AI that helps without taking over, and one-click job tailoring that rewrites your CV for each role with a transparent diff preview:
Try JobSprout - Free to create and download. No paywall when you're ready to export.
