📋 25 things to check before you submit your CV

🖥️ Format

✅ Saved as a Word document (.docx) — not PDF

✅ Single column layout — no tables or text boxes

✅ Standard font — Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman

✅ Font size 10–12pt for body, 14–16pt for your name

✅ No headers or footers containing key information

✅ No photos, graphics or logos

✅ No coloured text or shading

🔑 Keywords

✅ Job title from the job description appears in your CV

✅ Key skills from the advert are mirrored exactly

✅ Industry-specific terms are spelled out in full the first time

✅ No unexplained acronyms

✅ Skills section is near the top of your CV

📄 Content

✅ Your name and email address are at the top

✅ No personal details — no date of birth, photo or nationality

✅ Employment history is in reverse chronological order

✅ Any gaps are briefly explained

✅ Achievements use numbers where possible

✅ No ‘references available on request’

🔍 Final checks

✅ Spell checked

✅ Read out loud — does it make sense?

✅ Tailored to this specific job — not a generic CV

✅ File name includes your name — not ‘CV’ or ‘Document1’

✅ Under 2 pages

✅ Sent to yourself first to check formatting survived