1. Make your CV reflect the job description if you are sending it in for a particular job. If the job description asked for five main qualities in the ideal candidate, make sure those five qualities are clearly there on the first page of your CV.

2. Put your contact details on the first page — including email address and mobile phone. Many recruiters are under time pressure when compiling short lists for interview and will have a slight preference for candidates who make their tasks easier.

3. Reflect the words used in the job description and job advertisement. If they talk about “personnel”, use the word “personnel” rather than “human resources”.

4. Put down your highest level of qualification. And, unless you are just starting your career, you really do not need to put down your school.

5.Highlight achievements, rather than listing everything you have done. You could say: “was a member of the top-billing sales team in the company” or “pioneered use of different kinds of technology for my department”.

6. Write a “personal profile” of yourself which is like an executive summary about you. You might say that you are “a degree-qualified researcher specializing in legal matters”.

7. Don’t leave out useful skills. The fact that you can speak French, have a regular driving licence are all worth putting down.

8. Tailor each CV to the job you are applying for. If you are an insurance claims manager applying for two different posts — one for a large insurer and one for a niche player — you will want to produce two different CVs. The one for the big company will highlight your experience working for large businesses; the one for the niche player will show how you can transfer your skills to a smaller player, how you can work in small teams and how you are happy to muck in if there is pressure on time.

9. Try to avoid leaving gaps in your CV. If you were unemployed for a few months, you can sometimes glide over this by showing your job history in years rather than months (sales assistant 1996-9; sales manager 1999 to the present). Or if you did some travelling while unemployed, you can actually confess to it. These days employers are more broad-minded about people who have had time out, but you do not want to raise unanswered questions in your CV that could make your interviewers feel uncomfortable or anxious about you.

10. Make everything positive on your CV. Try to avoid saying that you were made redundant. A bald statement of that kind could look as if you still feel negatively about that event. Your CV should convey a sense of vitality and an image of you progressing smoothly and confidently through your career rather than having bumps.— Dawn/Observer News Service