“Your CV is often your first introduction to a recruiter or organisation,” Nick says. “Along with giving the recruiter a factual and chronological snapshot of your skills and experience to date, it must show why you are suitable for the specific job you’ve applied for. That’s why tailoring your resume to each role is important.

“To do this, tweak your personal statement to outline why you want to work for this particular industry and organisation. Streamline your skills, education and experience to highlight only the most relevant information. Then use keywords from the job description and link them to your skills and experience.”

“Invest the time to really understand a job ad, what the employer (or recruiter) wants and tailor your resume and online profile to a particular job,” says Kathleen. “A little bit of extra effort really does go that extra mile.”

“If a recruiter is scanning your resume for keywords, then it’s easier if you’re already speaking the same language as them,” says Kathleen. “For example, if an organisation refers to ‘clients’ in their job ad, do the same rather than referring to them as ‘customers’. It’s also important to use active rather than passive language, like ‘I did’ rather than ‘I was part of’. This grabs recruiters’ attention more as it highlights what your personal contribution was to the team.”

“I recommend straying away from popular buzzwords such as, ‘loyal’, ‘energetic’, ‘punctual’, ‘motivated’ and ‘enthusiastic’,” Kathleen says. ‘While the majority of candidates may feel these words sound great on a resume, these are rarely backed with concrete examples. It’s always more effective to show how you have demonstrated an attribute or quality, as well as the outcomes which this led to in previous roles.”

“Recruiters and hiring managers don’t want to read what you think about yourself – we want to see proof that you did your previous jobs well,” says Nick. “So make sure you link keywords to your results. One simple trick to help you do this is to combine an action verb with a keyword. For example, instead of writing that you ‘always achieved your target goals’, write ‘I surpassed target goals by 20 per cent in quarter one and 18 per cent year-on-year. Or, instead of writing that you managed a team, try ‘I united and motivated a team of five under-performers. After one year our customer service scores had increased by 55 per cent’. You can also add links to prove your successes in previous roles. For example, ‘I organise an annual sales conference attended by over 1,500 staff flying in from all over the country. Reviews of our successful 2018 event can be seen here’ – then link to the online reviews.”

“If any past roles aren’t relevant to the opportunity you’ve applied for, simply list the name of the company, your job title, and the dates you were employed,” Nick says. “This shows you were employed during this time, while freeing up space for more suitable experience.”

Kathleen agrees. “It’s important to highlight key responsibilities and unique selling points in your resume to stand out from the crowd,” she says. “Make sure you include not only your responsibilities, but also your success at achieving them. Don’t beat around the bush with excessive wording – if you have facts and figures to show your achievements or written feedback, this will achieve more cut-through.”

“While you’re working through and updating your resume, ensure any changes you make are also reflected in your online profile,” says Kathleen. “This will instantly make you more visible to potential employers.”

“It’s also essential to ensure that both your LinkedIn profile and resume are aligned,” Nick adds. “Any contrasting information will send up red flags.”

“Technological advancements are reducing the time to hire. One job ad can elicit hundreds of responses, and with the aid of AI and automated machine-learning algorithms, this time consuming process can now take seconds,” Nick says.

“To ensure your application reaches the shortlist, add keywords to your CV and LinkedIn profile that are relevant to the jobs you apply for. Look at job descriptions for your ideal role so you can determine what these keywords are. Don’t forget keywords for the required soft skills, such as ‘communication’, ‘time management’ or ‘professionalism’, and the systems you use. Then use these keywords throughout your CV and LinkedIn profile to describe your achievements. For example, ‘I used my time management skills to plan a successful annual conference with a strict budget in a short timeframe’. Ensure your CV is also in the accepted format as an alternative style might not contain the content AI recognises, meaning your application could fail to make the shortlist.”

“One final but important point is to make sure your resume is well formatted and there are zero spelling or grammatical errors,” Kathleen says. “Attention to detail is critical, as these types of errors could result in you being automatically ruled out for the position, irrespective of your skills and experience.”

Nick agrees. “Mistakes reflect badly on you and how conscientious you are in your work, so proofread your resume at least once before sending it,” he says. “Check your formatting, spelling and grammar, make sure all hyperlinks work and check your phone number, email address and LinkedIn URL are correct.”

“Our average attention span is eight seconds, but the average recruiter will only spend six seconds looking at a resume, so it’s important to make the most of it!,” Kathleen says. “They will more readily engage with one or two pages of compelling content that is communicated in a visually interesting manner, so it’s crucial to be both creative and concise. From an aesthetic point of view, all the best resumes have consistent formatting and clearly highlight core skills, education and professional experience in a snackable form without long-winded detail.”