Should you use one generic CV?

Published: 21 Dec 2019

Should you use one generic CV?

Many job seekers use just one single version of their CV when applying for roles. There is a tendency to think after investing many hours crafting a CV that once finished, the task is complete. All that is left to do now is upload the CV to a job board, apply for some roles directly or perhaps even send the odd speculative application, always using the same CV.  This scatter-gun approach for multiple applications is usually doomed to disappointment.

Every job is unique, so your CVs should be

Even jobs with the same job title can be very different from each other. Anyone who has stayed within a similar type of role between organisations will tell you that the experience and responsibilities can be extremely varied. Likewise, a ‘customer adviser’ could be a support role in one organisation or very sales focused in another. It follows then that your CV needs to focus to the requirements of each individual role.

There is no generic job title based ATS algorithm

ATS systems do not assess CVs based on generic role types. For instance, job boards don’t have an algorithm for ‘finance managers’ that will sift every CV evenly against this job title. ATS systems work by analysing CVs against individual role specifications. You only have to download 2 or 3 specifications for similar sounding roles to see how differently they can be written. You can’t therefore rely on one version of your CV to be effective in passing ATS filters.

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