I’ve said this before, but as we review thousands of CVs on a weekly basis, the majority are not good. I once saw one that was a name and 4 words long and another that still had an AI prompt in it, twice. You don’t need a perfect CV to stand out, an adequate one would do the job. Don’t get me wrong, a nice looking CV certainly is eye-catching and will help but to get through the process isn’t an absolute requirement. A decent CV isn’t complicated but it’s often overlooked. Writing a good CV isn’t for perfection, it shows competency.
Keep it Clean and Simple
So what makes a CV decent? Start with the basics.
Spell check and good grammar are non-negotiable, it could have an immaculate layout and have all the experience required for the job but if it’s chock full of spelling and grammar mistakes, there is a high chance of it being passed over by most hiring managers. In my teenage years, this wasn’t something I was good at and once went into an interview and the interviewer had my CV in hand with every spelling and grammar mistake highlighted. Most people aren’t that way inclined but the point was made.
Don’t change formatting; keep the same fonts (readable and simple, nothing fancy), styles, colours. Make sure it’s readable, have proper headings and use proper spacing. Hiring managers and recruiters skim CVs as they see so many so if you follow the above, it’s clear and readable with no issues.
Your CV can be as long as you like. This myth that it has to be only 1 or 2 pages is just that, a myth. It can be as long or short as it needs to be, most can fit into 4 pages or less but there is no hard or fast rule. Fresh out of school, 1 page. 30 years of work history, probably 4. Including a portfolio, I personally would have a separate document for this but some do add it to the CV and either way works.
The main point is, if it’s hard to read, it probably won’t be.
General Structure
Name
Contact Details / Location (generalised area is fine and recommended over an actual address)
Include a line underneath with industry and job title if you have experience in that role and are looking to remain in it. E.g. “Commercial Roofing Project Manager”
Brief personal statement / a bit about you (optional but can help)
Skills section (This can go anywhere – under your personal statement or at the end, it’s down to preference. Use it to specify software you’ve used, roofing systems like single-ply, TPO, commercial or residential experience. Think of it as a keyword section. With AI scanning and general skimming, this is often the first place people look to establish relevance.)
Work history (in order of latest to oldest) – Include: Job title, company name, dates, key responsibilities
Education and qualifications (if you are fresh out of education, this section should come before work history)
Make it easy for people to find, read and understand the information without overwhelming you and you’re golden.
Things I would avoid adding:
- Pages of information on your job role: this is a summary, not an autobiography that can come in the interview
- Date of birth – it can add age bias
- “References available on request” – this line is completely unnecessary, everyone has them, so it doesn’t need to be added to the CV.
- Reference contact details, unless you have explicit permission from the reference to do so but I would provide them when requested for data protection reasons
- Every single job from 20 years ago in detail
- Generic statements like “hard worker” or “team player”
- Don’t get AI to write it, we can tell and they all look the same. That being said, it can help you write – use it as a tool to enhance, not do it for you.
- Overly fancy formatting – especially with AI there is a chance it won’t be followed correctly
If you follow this guide you will have a decent CV.
Remember, it isn’t meant to be perfect and won’t land you a job, but it can open doors and there are plenty of online tools available to help write and structure.