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Tailoring a CV in ten minutes, not two hours

5 minute read · Updated 2026-09-01

Everyone is told to tailor their CV to every job. Almost nobody does, because it sounds like an hour's work. Done properly it is four changes and ten minutes, and it is the single highest return thing in a job search.

Set it up once

Keep one master CV with everything you have ever done, longer than two pages. You never send this. Each application is a copy with the irrelevant parts cut, which is far faster than adding things in.

Change one: the job title line, thirty seconds

Under your name, put the title from the advert if it is honestly what you do. Advert says Multi Drop Delivery Driver, your CV says Multi Drop Delivery Driver. This is the smallest change with the biggest effect.

Change two: the personal statement, three minutes

Rewrite three lines so they mirror the advert's priorities. If the advert leads on shift work and reliability, lead on shift work and reliability. If it leads on customer contact, lead on that. Same facts, different order.

Change three: the top five bullets, four minutes

Under your most recent role, move the bullets that match the advert to the top, and cut one that does not matter here. You are not writing new ones, only reordering.

Change four: the skills block, two minutes

Put the licences and systems the advert names first, in the advert's own words where they are true of you. If it says "reach truck" do not write "FLT", and if it says "MS Excel" do not write "computer literate".

What not to bother with

  • Rewriting older roles. Nobody reads them on the first pass.
  • Changing fonts or layout per employer.
  • Inventing experience to match a line. It falls apart at interview and it ends the conversation.

The check that takes one minute

Paste the advert and your tailored CV into our free CV check. It lists the advert's own words that your CV never uses. Work the true ones in and you are done. Nothing is stored, so you can run it for every application.

Then apply. Five tailored applications beat fifty copies, and it is not close.