How to Tailor a CV to a Job Ad?

In this article, we’re going to tackle the question of how to tailor a CV to a specific job ad. If you’ve been following Linking Lines, you must have noticed we’re all about focusing your CV and optimization. Keep on reading to find out why.

But what does that really mean? Why do we keep using those terms, and what is it that we’re trying to say? And you’re probably also wondering how to tailor your CV to a job description.

Well, to keep it super simple, we want to tailor your CV and cover letter to a job description. Basically, we go over dozens of job ads that are relevant to the position you want and we make sure the final product matches the vacancy. This requires a lot of research and attention to detail. We go over the job ads and look for overlaps. And that’s how you get an optimized CV!

Let’s dig a bit deeper…

Tailor CV to a Job Description + don’t forget about your cover letter!

Ok, now you know what it is that we do. But why do we do it? First of all, that is an excellent question. We do this primarily for the screening software. If we tailor a CV to a job and the company uses ATS, your CV has better chance of passing the screening. And that is an essential step in your job search. Not only that, but by matching your CV to a vacancy, we show you, the client, that you really do have what it takes to do the job. And that is basically the answer to how to tailor your CV to a job description question!

Now that I’ve explained the core of things, let’s take a look at how you can match your CV and CL to a vacancy if you’re writing the documents yourself.

Research, research, and again – research!

Indeed, we say this a lot at Linking Lines, but that’s because it is the essence of what we do. For you to write a successful CV and cover letter, you have to do your due diligence and research. We due the same; majority of our work is indeed research.

What is it that you need to research? Everything! If you want to truly tailor a CV to a job, you need to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Research the job titles you are interested in.

To tailor a CV to a job description, but also your cover letter, you have to see are different ways of referring to your profession. Do this so you cover all your bases. For example, if you want to tailor a CV to a job in an office, there are several job titles that you should look out for. This is the only way you can successfully match your CV and cover letter and build a profile that shows the reader you can do the job. You can be interested in office administration and that’s covered by the following job titles: office administrator, office clerk, office assistant, administrative assistant. And this is not the end of the list, and there’s plenty more!

Research the job descriptions – outside the job ads.

The proper way of doing this would be to open between 10 and 20 different sites that have job descriptions. Of course, you don’t have to read every letter in all 10+ of the sites, but at least scan through them and see if there’s anything different that you can use in your CV or cover letter. You never know which site will inspire you to write the best possible CV and CL.

Some suggestions for the sites are Career Planner, Workable, Monster, TotalJobs, and Betterteam. The more you research, the better insight into the market you will get. And this will help you immensely when writing your CV and cover letter. This step is mandatory if you want to tailor a CV to a job.

Research the job ad(s).

Similar to what we’ve said above, you need to check out between 10 and 20 different job ads for the position you want if you want to tailor a CV to a job. Focus on the job requirements, job descriptions, and minimum qualifications. What you’re trying to do with all this research is find an angle that shows you as the perfect candidate for the job. And you can’t be the perfect candidate if your CV and cover letter are not tailored to the job….hence the research!

Pay attention to the job post advertising the vacancy itself.

The best way to tailor a CV to a job is to – pay attention to the post advertising the vacancy itself. The same, of course, applies to the cover letter. Might seem logical, but this is crucial so we will go over it once more. Whatever you see in the job ad that interests you, you should include it in your CV and/or cover letter. After all, this is the role you want to get so this is where your focus should be – in matching your skills, experience, and qualifications to the vacancy.
Here’s a disclaimer: you have to use your common sense. Don’t copy-paste from the job ad something that has nothing to do with you (e.g. proficiency in Phyton when you never worked in it).

Simple enough, but…

There you have it! Now you’ve learned how to tailor a CV to a job (and also the cover letter). If you do all of the above, you should be pretty successful in your job search.

Some other things you should keep in mind are:

• don’t go over 2 pages in your CV (if it’s too long, no one’s going to read it)
• don’t go over 600 words in your cover letter (keep it short and sweet, intrigue the reader)
• try to add your own words and phrases in the parts you copy-pasted from job ads/descriptions (so it’s not super-obvious what you’ve done)

Keep in mind it takes a lot of time to do this properly. You really need to dedicate a big chunk of your time to the research and then again to put the documents together. However, don’t give up. It’s extremely rewarding, and you can do it if you put your mind to it!

To help you with this, we’ve written a step-by-step professional CV writing guide that you can find here. Follow the principles in the book and get more reactions to job applications.

We also have loads of tips in our other blog posts. So, make sure you check them out!

However, if this sounds overwhelming, you can always hire a professional to do the job for you. Simply get in touch using the form below and let’s transform your career.