A strong CV gives a recruiter enough evidence to understand what you can do and where you have done it. Keywords can help describe that experience, but they cannot replace it. Start with a real vacancy and a small evidence bank rather than a decorative template or an imagined perfect ATS score.
The workshop: vacancy → evidence → CV
Save the job description and highlight the responsibilities, essential qualifications and repeated skill terms. Separate genuine requirements from preferences. For each important requirement, write down one example from employment, study, volunteering or a personal project. If there is no example, mark the gap instead of inventing experience.
- Requirement: organise competing priorities. Evidence: a shift handover, project schedule or service queue you helped manage.
- Requirement: communicate with customers. Evidence: a complaint you resolved or guidance you made easier to understand.
- Requirement: use a named tool. Evidence: what you actually created, checked or maintained with that tool.
Keep this working document outside the CV. It is a reusable record of examples, not an application attachment. Include the context, your own contribution and a source that helps you remember accurately, such as an approved report or a supervisor's feedback. Do not copy confidential employer information into a personal portfolio.
Before and after: replace a duty with proof
Before: “Responsible for stock checks and customer service.” This tells the reader where you worked, but not how you contributed.
After, as an illustrative example: “Checked stock discrepancies during closing shifts, recorded unresolved items for the morning team and explained available alternatives to customers.” The second version names actions and a useful handover without inventing a percentage improvement. Adapt the structure to your own work; do not copy the experience as though it were yours.
Use action + context + result when the result is known. If you have a reliable measure, add the timeframe and scope. If you do not, describe a verifiable outcome such as an accepted deliverable, a resolved issue or a process another person used. “Helped” is honest when the work was shared; claiming the whole team's result is not.
ATS reality check
Applicant tracking systems vary. Some store applications; some parse documents or support filtering. No template or keyword count guarantees an interview. Follow the employer's file instructions first. Use familiar section headings, selectable text and a reading order that remains clear outside the visual layout. Do not hide keywords, paste the whole vacancy into the document or list skills you cannot explain.
Open the exported file, select its text and paste it into a plain-text editor. Check that your name, contact details, dates, headings and experience appear in a sensible order. This is a useful readability check, not a simulation of every ATS. Review the actual application form as well: imported dates and employer names may need correction.
The ten-minute tailoring pass
- Put the most relevant experience and skills where they are easy to find.
- Use the employer's terminology only when it accurately describes your experience. Spell out an unfamiliar abbreviation on first use.
- Match essential requirements to evidence, and remove unrelated filler before making the font smaller.
- Keep dates, job titles and qualifications consistent with the application form and your public profile.
- Check file type, spelling, links and the final exported document rather than only the editable original.
Keep your proof honest and private
Use a professional contact address and share only the personal information the application legitimately needs. Requirements differ by country and employer; do not add identity numbers, bank details or a full home address simply because a template includes them. Ask before sharing client names, internal figures or proprietary screenshots.
Your next step: rewrite three bullets using evidence you can discuss in an interview. Ask someone unfamiliar with your role what each bullet proves. If they cannot identify the skill or contribution, make the action more concrete before adding another keyword.