The importance of a targeted CV

Your targeted CV is what you produce when you are serious about your job search, and employers know it. it’s a CV that has been tailored to the role you are applying for. it’s the opposite of the “one CV fits all” approach where a candidate simply sprays their CV across the marketplace in a scattergun approach and hopes for the best.

Your success isn’t a matter of chance. You can choose to do the things that improve your chances in the job search. One of these is targeting your CV. To do this you have to be committed enough to place the necessary emphasis on identifying what the employer is looking for. Since you are reading this I know that is not a problem for you. So do your research. Study the job description and the job advertisement. What are they looking for? What do you need to tell them about yourself?

Targeting will help you stand out from your competition. Employers are looking for a candidate who appears to meet the criteria they are after. They will be looking for key skills, key experiences, and key words that indicate you may be a worthwhile candidate to consider at interview. Targeting gives you a chance to tick as many of their boxes as possible. It also shows you are genuinely interested in the role.

Will I need to produce a CV specifically for every role I apply to?

A targeted CV is important. The good new is the work you have done in setting your job search objectives will have helped you focus on what you want. The opportunities you have identified should essentially be very similar, with minor differences between them based on the details of the role and the employer. As long as this is the case you should feel free to produce one CV to use as your base template and, when useful, make minor changes to emphasise points specific to each individual application.



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