What's the single biggest CV mistake?

Bullets that describe your job description instead of what you did with it. "Responsible for managing the social media accounts" is a duty; "Grew Instagram following from 2.4k to 11k in nine months" is an achievement. The first kind is invisible to recruiters; the second moves you up the shortlist.

Should I include a photo on my CV in the UK?

No. UK convention treats CV photos as unprofessional and they introduce bias risk for the reader. Same applies to date of birth, marital status, and nationality (unless visa-relevant). All of these belong off the CV.

Should I list every job I've ever had?

No. Anything older than 10 years gets summarised in one line at most, or cut entirely if it's irrelevant to where you are now. The recruiter cares about what you do now, not what you did in your second job out of university.

What should I do if I have no impressive numbers to put on my CV?

Numbers aren't the only quantifier. Comparisons ("first in the team to ship X"), scope ("across 11 markets"), and timeframes ("delivered two weeks ahead of plan") all work. If a bullet has zero numbers AND zero scope AND zero comparison, the achievement might not be real — that's a useful signal to cut it rather than dress it up.

Do I need a cover letter if my CV is strong?

Yes when one is requested or even optional for a role you really want. A strong CV proves capability; the cover letter proves fit for that specific job. Together they're substantially stronger than either alone — about 80% of hiring managers say a tailored cover letter influences shortlisting decisions.

How to Make Your CV Better — 7 Quick Wins (2026)

Most CVs aren't bad — they're just wasteful. The page is full but the recruiter's six-second scan finds nothing memorable. These seven changes take less than an hour and consistently make CVs better, regardless of role or seniority.

The 7 quick wins

Lead bullets with impact, not duties.
Cut anything older than 10 years.
Quantify everything you can.
Remove "References available on request".
Match keywords to the job description.
Fix the layout — one column, clear sections.
Get a second opinion.

1. Lead bullets with impact, not duties

The single most common CV mistake: bullets that describe your job description instead of what you did with it.

Duty-led (weak):

Responsible for managing the social media accounts and posting content weekly.

Impact-led (strong):

Grew Instagram following from 2.4k to 11k in nine months by switching to a weekly Reels-first cadence.

Same role, completely different signal. Lead with the verb that names the change you made; numbers and method come second.

2. Cut anything older than 10 years

Unless you're applying for an unusually senior role where two-decade-old context matters, anything over ten years gets summarised in one line or cut entirely. The recruiter cares about what you do now, not what you did at your second job out of university.

Two-line cap on roles 10+ years old:

2010–2014 — Junior Account Manager, Greybridge & Co. Two years on retail clients (£500k–£2m budgets) before moving into the brand strategy team.

That's it. The space gets reclaimed for your most recent role, where bullets should be most detailed.

3. Quantify everything you can

Numbers force you to be specific. Wherever you wrote "improved", "managed", "led", or "delivered", ask: how much, by when, against what baseline? You don't need to invent metrics — comparisons and scopes work too.

"improved engagement" → "improved engagement by 23% over Q3"
"managed a team" → "managed a team of seven across three time zones"
"delivered on time" → "delivered two weeks ahead of plan"
"ran the migration" → "ran the migration of 450 customer accounts in six months"

If a bullet has zero numbers and zero scope, it's not pulling its weight.

4. Remove "References available on request"

It's assumed. It takes up a line. Cut it. Same goes for:

"CV" or "Curriculum Vitae" as a heading at the top — the format makes it obvious.
Date of birth, marital status, photograph (UK convention; not asked for, not legal to use, and adds bias risk).
Hobbies and interests unless they're directly relevant to the role or unusually distinctive (running ultra-marathons; speaking five languages). "Reading and travel" reveals nothing.

Each line cut is real estate the recruiter spends on something useful.

5. Match keywords to the job description

Before you submit a CV anywhere, compare it side-by-side with the JD. The skills, tools, and domain language the JD uses should also appear in your CV — using the same phrasing where you can honestly do so. (How to optimise your CV for a specific job covers this in depth.)

This is the single biggest difference between a CV that gets shortlisted and one that doesn't, especially for roles posted on LinkedIn or Workday where ATS keyword matching does the first cut.

6. Fix the layout — one column, clear sections

Stop trying to design the CV. The fanciest CV layouts (two columns, sidebars, custom icons, colour blocks) all hurt ATS parsing and don't improve the human read. The CV layout that works for everyone:

One column, full-width, top-to-bottom flow.
Five sections in this order: Contact details, Professional summary (2-3 lines), Experience, Education, Skills.
Reverse-chronological within Experience and Education.
System fonts only (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia).
10–11pt body text, 14pt headings, generous whitespace.

If your CV doesn't look like this and you're not getting interviews, the layout is part of the problem.

7. Get a second opinion

You're too close to your own CV to see what's missing. Three options:

A trusted friend or colleague who'll be honest. They'll spot the bullet you've stared at for so long you can't see it any more.
A recruiter who works in your field. Even a ten-minute call with one tells you what's flagging.
A free AI review like AI Job Answers' CV Evaluation tool, which scores your CV across five dimensions and tells you the top five things to change. Useful as a sanity check between human reviews.

Common CV mistakes to avoid

Past the seven wins, these are the easy ones to fix:

Using "I" — CVs are written in the implied first person ("Led", not "I led").
Mixed tense — current role in present tense, past roles in past tense.
Inconsistent date formats ("Jan 2024", "2024-01", "January 2024" all on the same page).
Spelling and grammar errors (use Grammarly or read it backwards line-by-line).
A 2+ page CV at less than 10 years' experience. Aim for 1 page until you can't.