Is My CV OK? 4 Reasons You Might Want to Get A Professional CV Review

Is my CV OK? Or do I need a CV review? This is a really tough question to answer for yourself without first applying for a raft of jobs and seeing what kind of success rate you get...

With all the time, effort, and stress that might involve! An efficient alternative would be to seek professional CV advice.

Plus, if it’s your dream job you’re applying for, you don’t want it to be just OK – you want to knock it out the park! With this in mind, maybe it’s time you asked for a free CV review.

Anyone can improve their CV and career prospects with a professional CV review service that offers actionable feedback.

Below are 5 reasons you might especially want to look into it!

1. You're not getting responses to your applications

Not getting answers to your numerous applications can become frustrating. We've all been in that position and have all asked ourselves the same questions: what are we doing wrong? Are we not good enough for the job? Underqualified? Overqualified?

Reasons that could explain your lack of success

• You are not qualified for the job

• You are underselling yourself

• You are not tailoring your CV to the job you're applying for

• Your CV is not beating applicant tracking systems (ATS)

Now, if you are not qualified for the job, there is not much you can do, you just aren't. The best solution to solve this problem is simply to apply for jobs that are more in line with your background.

That being said, it is more likely you didn't get an answer because you undersold yourself, didn't tailor your CV to the job description, or submitted a CV not compatible with ATS.

How can a CV review service help me land interviews?

There are many free CV review services out there, enabling you to upload your CV and get feedback on its content and outline.

A CV review by professional CV writers can help you overcome the potential issues above, notably by:

• Helping you identify how you can better showcase your background, experience, competencies, and education to employers

• Help you include the right data and keywords to beat applicant tracking systems (ATS)

• Help you gather feedback and suggestions on your CV structure

2. It’s been a while since your last job application

If you’ve been working at the same company for a while, then chances are you won’t have updated your CV in a long time. Besides changes to your personal details, did you know that CV trends also evolve pretty quickly?

For example, prospective employers don’t need to see your address or date of birth anymore. Depending on the sector, they might be more interested in your social media handles. The layout and style are also important criteria to consider, especially when applying for a creative role - and trends here move pretty fast.

Another significant change is how CVs are processed – and how they should be formulated accordingly. More often than not, recruiters now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to filter the hundreds of CVs they receive, based on the use of keywords.

A professional CV review will ensure your CV is not only in line with the latest industry trends, but also includes all the relevant keywords to get you through the ATS screening process and land you an interview.

3. You're applying for a job in another country

CV trends differ from country to country too, so it’s not enough to just translate it. For example, in France, including a photo of yourself on your CV is the norm, whereas this might be considered a faux pas in the UK.

Applicants who skillfully use their CV to show they are culturally aware, and ready to hit the ground running in their new country, are more likely to get a call following their application.

In addition, where in some countries, placing an emphasis on the companies you've worked at might serve you well, other cultures might address more importance on what you have achieved in your career.

Professional CV writers can help you showcase your intercultural competence and awareness and help you demonstrate you informed yourself about local CV trends and hiring processes

3. You’re not sure what to include or how to sell yourself

Given that the standard CV length is two pages, and that not all your skills and experiences will be relevant to the job on offer, you might be struggling with what to include or exclude from your CV to appeal to hiring managers.

Professional CV writers can teach you "humble-bragging"

"Humble-bragging" is the key to a winning CV. This essentially means selling yourself without overdoing it.

What’s more, there’s a lot riding on how you frame those skills and experiences. The classic trap is to use ‘doing’ language which makes your CV feel more like an old to-do list than a bulging trophy cabinet. Instead, you should use 'achieving' language to demonstrate how you excelled at each task.

Here's what we mean:

• 'Doing': Worked in various roles within the IT department.

• 'Achieving': Led 10+ IT projects with department stakeholders, enabling company-wide IT process optimisation.

Same experience, very different vibe... Recruiters definitely want to read the latter!

4. Your CV presents a gap in employment

Whatever the reason – travel, caregiving, dismissal – any gap on your CV will invite questions from recruiters, so it needs to be presented in the best possible way, to sound constructive and coherent.

On this, did you know you can now add a 'career break' to the Experience section on your LinkedIn profile? There are 13 different types of career breaks to choose from, so it might be a good idea to start by doing this, then use it to guide how you frame it on your CV.

How can CV experts prevent employment gaps from harming your applications?

Your CV expert can help you shape an honest, coherent, and error-free justification of employment gaps, and help you prepare for any questions that might arise from it.

With a little help, you’ll be perfectly primed to navigate those questions, and can use them as an opportunity to highlight your ethos and career motivations.

Anyone can benefit from a professional CV review service

If any of the list above applies to you, then you could really use our CV critique as a starting point.

Really though, anyone can benefit from a professional CV review. Even if you're in a comfortable position in your career, you never know when you might be surprised by the dream job offer, invited to interview for a promotion, or contacted with an interesting proposition... Only to find your CV was last updated before TikTok was a thing, and the Fast and the Furious franchise was only on its seventh film.

How we can help you with a free CV review

Not getting a response to your CV and not landing interviews for weeks constitute red flags you don't want to ignore.

Our team can offer you a free CV review and give you feedback, enabling you to establish whether you're on the right track. All you have to do is contact us, submit or upload your CV via email and we'll get back to you within two working days!

About us

Boost provides state-of-the-art CV, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile writing services. Our team, composed of multilingual HR and communication professionals, can help you craft high-quality documents in English, French, German, and Spanish.

Contact us today by email or by phone, and claim your free CV review service. If you need a more extensive critique of your CV, we offer 60-min CV critique meetings or extensive drafted-feedback (whichever you prefer!) to dig deep into what can be improved.

If you feel you need an extra push to boost your applications, we'll gladly go beyond giving you a free CV review and guide you during your entire job search process!