How to tailor your CV for each job without making anything up

There is a line between tailoring and lying. Tailoring picks the true facts that matter for one job. Lying adds facts that are not true.

Stay on the right side. Recruiters check. Interviewers ask. An invented number can cost you the offer after you get it.

Start with a master CV

Make one long document. Put everything true in it: every role, every project, every tool, every number you can defend.

This is not the CV you send. It is the source. Each tailored CV is a short cut from it.

Step 1: read the job

Use the three lines from how to read a job description. Write down the first three duties and the repeated terms.

Step 2: pick the facts that answer those duties

For each duty, find one or two facts in your master CV that show you have done it. If a duty has no matching fact, leave it. Do not stretch.

Put the best facts first in each role. The top three lines of your CV get read most.

Step 3: use the job's words where they are true

Your CV says "worked with suppliers to cut delays". The job says "vendor management". If you managed those suppliers, change your line.

Before: "Worked with suppliers to cut delays."

After: "Managed vendors for packaging and cut delivery delays."

Check each change by asking one question: could I explain this line in an interview? If yes, keep it. If you hesitate, revert it.

Step 4: rewrite the summary line

A summary line has three parts: your role, your years, your field. Nothing else.

"Brand manager, five years, consumer goods and personal care."

Drop adjectives. They do not help a search and they read like filler.

Step 5: cut what does not help this job

A CV for a finance role does not need your college event committee. Cut it. A recruiter reads faster when every line matters. Aim for one page for under ten years of experience, two pages above that.

What you must never change

• Numbers. Never round up. Never add one you do not have.
• Dates and titles. Keep them as they were.
• Employers. Keep the real names.
• Skills. Never list a tool you have not used.
• Education. Keep it exact.

If a number is approximate, say "about" or give the range you can defend.

A worked example

Job duty: "Run trade promotions and report results weekly."

Master CV lines:

• Ran trade promotions across modern trade stores.
• Tracked sales in a weekly sheet and shared it with the regional head.

Tailored line: "Ran trade promotions across modern trade stores and reported results to the regional head every week."

Nothing is added. The order and the words changed. The facts did not.

Match the CV to the other places you show up

A recruiter may open your profile. Keep it consistent with your CV. See seven profile changes that make recruiters message you first.

Also check the format. A plain layout gets read by machines and people alike. What actually gets your CV rejected by applicant tracking systems covers what breaks.

One person, two jobs, two CVs

Take someone with five years in brand management. They apply to two jobs.

Job A is a brand role at a consumer goods company. The CV puts launches, agencies and trade promotions first. The summary line reads "Brand manager, five years, consumer goods".

Job B is a marketing role at a software company. The CV puts campaign planning, content and lead reporting first. The summary line reads "Marketing manager, five years, campaigns and reporting".

Both CVs are true. They use the same roles, dates and employers. The order and the words change because the jobs ask different things.

A checklist before you send

• Does the first third of the page answer the job's first three duties?
• Is every number one I can explain?
• Does every tool I list appear in the job, and have I used it?
• Do my title, dates and employers match my profile and my documents?
• Is the file name clear?
• Have I read it aloud once?

If you answer no to any line, fix it before you send.

When tailoring is not enough

If you cannot find true facts for the first two duties, tailoring will not save the application. That job is a stretch. Put your effort into a role you fit. See why 50 applications went nowhere.

Where Jobsift fits

Jobsift does this for one job at a time. You choose a job from your ten. Jobsift rewrites your CV for that job, using only what is already in your CV. It does not add numbers, skills or claims you did not make. You check it before you send.

It cannot promise an interview. It can save you the evening it takes to cut a CV by hand.