The job market is a competitive place and it is not uncommon for a single candidate to apply for dozens of vacancies before finally landing a role. With many vacancies attracting over a hundred applications, how do you make sure that your CV stands out from the crowd? One of our best pieces of advice would be to tailor your CV from one application to the next.

More often than not people will print a fistful of copies of their CV and fire them out in the post to every job that takes their fancy. Making the effort to tailor your CV for each application may take a little extra effort, but could dramatically increase your chances of securing an interview.

So if you are currently applying for jobs, here are a few areas of your CV you may wish to adjust:

• Personal Statement: Begin by reading through what the employer is looking for from the successful candidate. Then, in your personal statement, address those points with a few sentences that describe how your skills and experiences will help you meet those points.
• Previous Employment: There will come a time when you find yourself applying for a position for which you have no previous experience – most commonly management roles. In this instance it pays to emphasise where you have shown leadership, responsibility and decision-making duties in your previous roles.
• Skills and Experience: Chances are the roles you are applying for will all involve a similar skillset. By listing your skills in the order they appear on the description, an employer can quickly and easily see that you have the necessary experience.
• Hobbies and Interests: If we had a penny for every time we receive a CV which said the candidate likes to ‘socialise with friends’ we could all retire tomorrow. It is very easy to overlook this section and just write a list of all the things that interest you. We would suggest that you do your research on the company you are applying to and get an idea of the type of candidate they are looking for. This will help you to tailor your CV to match the company’s ethos.

Whatever the position you are applying for, be sure to always adapt your CV to suit the individual requirements of the role. It will give you a far better chance of a successful application!

Looking for a job in the energy sector? Our Vacancies Database lists all of the vacancies we are currently recruiting for. Take a look by clicking here. You can also find more help and advice on how to improve your CV by visiting our Candidate Resources page.