Most CVs go out unchanged, to every job. The person reading them has a few hundred to get through and looks for one thing first: does this person match what we asked for? Tailoring answers that on the first half of page one.
It's also where CVs go wrong. Under a deadline it's easy to borrow the posting's words for skills you've only read about. This guide keeps both in view: lead with what the posting wants, and only with what you can back up in an interview.
Start with the posting, not your CV
Read the posting twice. The first time, mark every requirement. The second time, sort them. Must-haves sit near the top, repeat in different words and often come with years attached. Nice-to-haves sit under a heading like "bonus". You're looking for three must-haves, because that's what the first half of page one has to answer.
- Build patient-facing features in React and TypeScript, from components to tests.Must-have
- Bring every screen to WCAG 2.2 AA and set the bar for the team.Must-have
- Grow a shared component library together with design.Must-have
- Experience with scheduling products or GraphQL.Nice to have
Make three edits
With the must-haves in hand, open your master CV. You're not rewriting it. You're choosing from it.
- Reorder
Move the roles, projects and bullets that answer the must-haves to the top of each section. Someone who stops after six lines should have seen all three.
- Rephrase
Use the posting's words where they describe what you actually did. If you built accessible components and the posting asks for WCAG 2.2 AA, name the standard, if you met it.
- Hide
Leave out what doesn't serve this job: early roles, unrelated side projects, the fourth bullet. Hidden isn't deleted. It stays in your master CV for the next posting.
- Worked on the operations product. Moved its 40 screens to a shared React and TypeScript library and checked them for accessibility.
- Took part in design system discussions.
- Moved 40 operations screens onto one shared React and TypeScript library and checked each one for accessibility.
Romy asks: Did the move change how long a form change takes? Add a result only if you can support it.
If you couldn't talk about it for two minutes in an interview, it doesn't belong on the CV.
Where tailoring turns into stretching
Stretching rarely starts as a lie. It starts as a small upgrade under a deadline. Watch for three of them.
- A skill you've only read about. "Familiar with Kubernetes" after one tutorial turns into an interview question you can't answer.
- A title you didn't hold. "Led" when you coordinated, "Senior" when the role wasn't. Titles come up again in reference calls.
- A number you can't source. If you don't know the percentage, don't estimate it. Ask someone who knows, or describe the result without it.
A ten-minute check before you send
- The three must-haves appear in the first half of page one.
- Every bullet you moved up still reads true on its own.
- The summary names the role you're applying for.
- No skill, title or number you couldn't discuss for two minutes.
- It fits the length the role expects, often one or two pages, and what you hid is still in your master CV.
Tailor from your master CV in a minute
Paste the posting. Romy reorders, rephrases and hides from your master CV, shows every change for you to accept or skip, and leaves a blank where a number is missing.
- Moved the Brightline design system bullet to the topReorder
- Used the posting's words where your CV backs themRephrase
- Hid two early roles for this copyHide
- One question: did it speed up changes? Add a result only if you measured one.Question
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