VIDEO: Your CV & The Job Description

How to Connect Your CV to a Job Description (So You Actually Get the Interview)

Job descriptions… useful, but let’s be honest - they’re the bare-bones skeleton of what a role actually involves. They’ll never tell you everything. But if you want to land that first-stage interview, you do need to make sure your CV connects clearly to what’s in that JD.

Here are four winning strategies to help you do just that:

1. Edit Your CV With Purpose

Don’t just fire off your “one-size-fits-all” CV - recruiters can spot that a mile off. Take the job description and actively edit your CV to draw clean, obvious links between your experience and their requirements.

Pay extra attention to:

• Competency-based criteria (usually lurking at the bottom of the JD)

• Anything HR will be screening for before you ever get near a hiring manager

2. Match Their Tone & Terminology

Watch your language. Seriously. Use wording that matches the tone of the job description — especially when it comes to job titles.

What you’re called internally might not match what they call a similar role. Help them translate your world into theirs so they immediately get what you do.

3. Got a Broad CV? Make the Link Crystal Clear

If you’ve done a bit of everything and now want to specialise, you need to spell out how your background aligns with a more focused role.

Don’t assume they’ll “get it”. Show them:

• Which skills transfer

• How your experience fits

• Where your expertise solves their problems

4. Long Work History? Don’t Waffle.

If your CV covers a lot of ground, keep it tight. Prioritise the most relevant and recent experience and show exactly how it links to the job description.

No novels. No sidetracks. Just clean, relevant alignment.

TL;DR: Make the Link Impossible to Miss

Job descriptions might not tell the whole story — but they do tell you enough to tailor your CV properly. Edit deliberately. Match their language. Prioritise relevance.

Do that, and you’ll give yourself the best possible shot at landing that all-important first-stage interview.