In a competitive job market, your CV needs to do more than list your employment history. It needs to tell a compelling story that positions you as the ideal candidate. Here is what our consultants look for when reviewing CVs.
Start With a Strong Personal Statement Your personal statement should be three to four lines that summarise your experience, expertise, and career aspirations. Tailor it to each application rather than using a generic overview.
Quantify Your Achievements Numbers speak louder than words. Instead of writing "managed the month-end process," write "streamlined the month-end close process, reducing completion time from 10 to 6 working days while maintaining accuracy." Every role should include at least two to three quantified achievements.
Tailor to the Role One size does not fit all. Review the job description carefully and mirror the language used. If they ask for "stakeholder management experience," use that exact phrase rather than a synonym.
Keep It Clean and Professional Use a clean, professional format with consistent fonts and clear section headings. Two pages is the ideal length for most professionals. Avoid dense paragraphs, and use bullet points for easy scanning.
Education and Qualifications List relevant qualifications prominently. For finance professionals, your ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent should be easy to find. For compliance professionals, ICA certifications add significant value.
Common Mistakes to Avoid The most common CV mistakes we see include unexplained employment gaps, generic personal statements, focusing on duties rather than achievements, typos and grammatical errors, and including irrelevant personal information.
The Digital Dimension Ensure your LinkedIn profile aligns with your CV. Many hiring managers will check both, and inconsistencies raise red flags. A complete, professional LinkedIn profile complements a strong CV.
At Strive Technical, we provide detailed CV feedback and optimisation as part of our candidate service. Get in touch to have your CV reviewed by one of our specialist consultants.