If you are looking at updating your CV because it’s been a while or even writing one from scratch because it’s been even longer, then there are a few things that you may need to know, but especially one thing.
In the past, CVs were essentially glorified job descriptions where you usually used the term ‘Responsible for…’ a lot and explained the duties of your role. That was all well and good for then, but in 2025, recruiters and hiring managers need and expect more from your CV.
Here are a few things you may already know:
- Ensure that keywords from the targeted job ad are included to work with the different ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) when making online applications.
- You don’t need to include our home address, date of birth or marital status.
- Keep formatting and your CV design simple. Recruiters don’t need (nor care) about ‘beautiful’ designs downloaded from the internet. They need to see what they need to see with enough white space to make it as easy as possible.
But what’s the one thing that you mentioned in your very clickbait-ey title you may ask.
And that would be a fair question.
And here is your answer….
Be sure that content on your CV is as achievement focused as possible.
Don’t just talk about what you did in your job.
Highlight what you achieved for the business by doing what you did.
And how do I do that?
Again, another fair question.
If it were a formula, it would be something like this:
Achieved A by doing B.
- Increased sales by 25% by building sustainable relationships with key global clients and partnering with sales and marketing teams.
Quantifiable metrics are always good if you have them. But if you don’t work in a field where that’s possible, think about the business objective. What did you achieve for the business by doing what you did?
How did you add value?
- Enhanced individual and team performance by delivering 10 training sessions and providing mentoring and coaching.
If you just want your CV to tick the relevant boxes, then that’s easily done by using AI, but it will stand out as much as the many others that only use AI – that’s to say that it won’t as you will all be saying the same thing and often using exactly the same language.
What is a ‘seasoned professional’ anyway? Do they come with salt & pepper? ‘Seasoned’ is one of those AI-words that I often see.
However if you want a CV to be effective, make the effort to make it as achievement focused as possible. Highlight what you achieved for the business by doing what you did so that recruiters can see evidence of your success and how you added value to the business as opposed to just doing your job.
If you’d like help with writing your CV to get the attention of recruiters, then get in touch!
Email jncvuk@gmail.com
LinkedIn Jason Newton
Photo Gerhard Venter on Unsplash
jncv.co.uk 
Leave a comment