How to Improve Your CV: Practical Tips to Get More Interviews

Most people don't need a new CV. They need a sharper version of the one they already have. The gap between a CV that gets ignored and one that lands interviews is usually three or four small fixes — not a complete rewrite.

I've reviewed hundreds of CVs over the past few years, and the same patterns come up again and again. This guide covers the specific changes that make the biggest difference, in order of impact.

1. Rewrite your summary first

The summary (or profile) at the top of your CV gets more attention than any other section. Recruiters read it in the first 3 seconds. If it doesn't immediately signal "this person is relevant to this role", they move on.

A bad summary: "Results-driven professional with extensive experience in various industries seeking a challenging role."

A good summary: "Marketing manager with 5 years in B2B SaaS. Built demand-gen programs across paid, content and email — drove +47% MQL volume and -23% CAC over the past 4 quarters."

The difference? The good one tells you the role, the domain, the experience level and a concrete outcome — in two sentences. Rewrite your summary for every application so it mirrors the job description's language.

2. Fix your bullet points

Most CV bullets describe responsibilities. Recruiters want outcomes. The formula is simple:

Action verb + what you did + measurable result

Bad: "Responsible for managing social media accounts."

Good: "Managed social media across LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter — grew followers 34% and increased engagement rate from 2.1% to 4.8% in 6 months."

Go through every bullet in your most recent two roles and apply this formula. If you don't have exact numbers, estimate conservatively and use qualifiers: "approximately", "roughly", "~30%".

3. Add the right keywords

ATS systems and recruiters both search for specific keywords. The right approach:

1. Read the job description carefully.
2. Identify the tools, skills, methods and outcomes they mention.
3. Make sure those exact terms appear in your CV — in the context of real experience.

Don't stuff keywords into a skills cloud. Weave them into your bullets: "Built revenue dashboards in Looker and dbt, serving weekly exec reviews" is far better than listing "Looker, dbt" in a sidebar.

4. Cut everything irrelevant

A shorter, more focused CV always beats a longer, more comprehensive one. For each bullet, ask: "Does this help me get this specific job?" If the answer is no, cut it.

Common things to remove: - Roles from more than 10–15 years ago (unless they're directly relevant) - Hobbies and interests (unless they're genuinely relevant) - Objective statements (replace with a summary) - References ("Available on request" is assumed — don't waste space)

5. Fix your formatting

Formatting issues cause two problems: ATS parsers can't read your CV, and recruiters find it hard to scan.

The fixes: - Use a single-column layout. - Use standard section headings: "Experience", "Education", "Skills". - Use a readable font at 10–11pt. - Keep margins consistent. - Use bullet points, not paragraphs. - Save as a text-based PDF, not a scanned image.

6. Get a second opinion (or use AI)

The hardest part of improving your own CV is that you're too close to it. You skip over weak bullets because you know what you meant. You keep irrelevant sections because the work felt important at the time.

Two options: ask a friend in your industry to review it honestly, or use a tool like [ResumAI](/) to get instant, specific feedback. The AI compares your CV to the job description and shows you exactly what's missing, what's weak and what's strong — then rewrites the weak parts for you.

7. Tailor for every application

This is the single highest-ROI habit in any job search. A tailored CV gets 2–3x more replies than a generic one. The good news: you only need to change three things per application:

1. The summary (mirror the JD's role title and domain language).
2. The skills order (put JD-relevant skills first).
3. The bullets in your most recent role (use the JD's verbs and tools).

If you're applying to 10+ jobs a week, [ResumAI](/) does this automatically — paste the JD, get a tailored version in 30 seconds.

The bottom line

Improving your CV is not about making it perfect. It's about removing the reasons recruiters say no. Fix the summary, sharpen the bullets, add the right keywords, cut the noise, and tailor for each role. These five changes take less than an hour for the first application and less than a minute for every application after that.