How to tailor your CV to a job ad, step by step

Why tailoring is worth it

Recruiters often read many CVs for the same role, and they usually decide quickly whether one deserves a careful read. In that first pass they look for one thing: signs that you have already done what the ad asks for. If those signs sit at the bottom of page two, or are written in different words, they can be missed.

Many employers also use an applicant tracking system (ATS), where CVs are searched by keyword. A CV that describes the same experience in the ad's vocabulary is easier to find. The ATS-friendly CV guide covers the format; this one is about the content.

Tailoring takes time, so do it for the roles you really want. For those, an hour of careful work is usually worth more than ten copies of the same document.

Step 1: read the ad methodically

Read the ad twice. The first time, understand the role. The second time, mark it up and sort what it says into four lists:

• Requirements: what is stated as essential ("required", "must have", "at least 3 years").
• Nice to have: the extras ("preferred", "a plus", "desirable").
• Responsibilities: what the person will do day to day.
• The ad's words: tools, task names and industry terms, written exactly as they appear.

Notice what repeats. A term that appears in the title, the requirements and the responsibilities is almost certainly central to the role. Note the level asked for ("familiarity with" is not "expert in") and the ad's language: if the ad is in English, your CV should usually be in English too, unless it says otherwise.

Step 2: gather evidence for each requirement

For each requirement, find concrete evidence in your career: a role, a project, a course or a result. Put it in a simple table, on paper or in a separate document:

Requirement in the ad  | My evidence (where and what)               | Strength
-----------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------
Advanced Excel         | Monthly stock reports at Shop X            | strong
Customer service       | 2 years at the front desk of Hotel Y       | strong
SAP                    | 20-hour course, never used at work         | partial
Driving licence        | —                                           | missing

Be strict with the strength column. "Strong" means you did it at work and can give an example in an interview. "Partial" means a course, occasional use or old experience. "Missing" means missing, and that is fine: hardly anyone meets every line of an ad.

This table drives everything else. It tells you what should move up in your CV, what can go, and what to address in your cover letter.

Step 3: rewrite your profile for this role

The profile (or summary) at the top is the most-read part of a CV. In two to four sentences, say who you are professionally, how long you have worked in the field, and the two or three strong pieces of evidence that matter most for this role.

Before

Dynamic, proactive professional with excellent teamwork skills and a willingness to learn.

After

Administrative assistant with 4 years' experience in invoicing and stock control, using Excel and Sage. Prepared the monthly reports for a shop with 12 staff.

The second version uses no adjectives: it gives facts the recruiter can check. Use the job title as the ad spells it, as long as it matches what you did. If the ad asks for a "Customer Support Specialist" and your title was "Call Centre Agent", keep your real title and describe the tasks in the ad's vocabulary.

Step 4: reorder and rewrite your experience

Keep reverse chronological order (most recent first): it is what most recruiters expect. Within each role, though, the order of the bullet points is yours. Put first the ones that prove requirements from the ad.

• Start each bullet with an action verb: "Prepared", "Coordinated", "Reduced", "Handled".
• Say what, with what, and to what end: the task, the tool and the result.
• Use numbers only when you can stand behind them. "Around 40 customers a day" is honest; an exact figure you don't know is not.
• Remove bullets that say nothing to this role, especially in older jobs. A one- or two-page CV reads better than a four-page one.

Step 5: keywords, honestly

Using the ad's words is legitimate when they describe something you did. If you handled "customer complaints" and the ad says "complaint resolution", use the ad's term. If the ad uses an acronym, write it out once with the acronym in brackets, such as "Customer Relationship Management (CRM)", so a search for either finds you.

Three things you should never do:

• Add skills you don't have. They will be tested in an interview, a technical test or your first months in the job.
• Copy whole sentences from the ad. It reads as copying and proves nothing.
• Hide keywords in white or tiny text. Systems and the people reading the file notice, and it has the opposite effect.

A rule of thumb: every keyword in your CV should have a ready answer to "Tell me about a time you did that".

Step 6: what to do about what's missing

Go back to the table from step 2. For "partial" requirements, say exactly what you have: "SAP course (20 h, 2025)" is true and useful. Leave "missing" ones out of the CV. You can address them in the cover letter instead: show a related skill and say how you plan to learn the rest.

If several central requirements are missing, ask yourself whether the role is right for you now. Sometimes the time is better spent on a role where your evidence is strong, or on a course that closes the gap.

Step 7: review before you send

1. Read the CV as the recruiter would: are the three main requirements visible in the top third of page one?
2. Check dates, company names and job titles. They must match your LinkedIn profile and what you will say in an interview.
3. Check spelling and language: a CV in English should have no forgotten words in another language.
4. Save the file with a clear name, such as "Firstname-Lastname-CV-Role.pdf", and keep a copy of this version so you know what you sent.

Finally, tailor your cover letter with the same evidence. The cover letter guide has a structure and a fill-in skeleton.