Tailoring your CV: so easy a twelve-year-old could do it

I always remember being forced to do comprehension tests in English at school and hating it. You’d read an uninspiring passage of text, then be asked some dull questions on what happened. What colour top was Tom wearing? Why did he have to go to the shops? Based on his socio-economic grouping, is Tom likely to vote for Brexit? That sort of thing.
 
Although boring as hell, it was pretty much impossible to flunk these. The answers, after all, were literally right in front of you.
 
Which, in a roundabout sort of way, brings me to CVs and job applications. For what is a CV if not a demonstration that you understand what skills a job needs (and that you possess these)? Yet more often than not, candidates view writing a CV as a one-off exercise in which they lay out their work history, to be taken as it is found by any prospective employer.
 
This sort of approach is both lazy and self-defeating. Take it from someone who regularly reads upwards of 40 CVs a day: alongside good academics I want to see work experience or skills relevant to the job for which you’ve applied. What’s the easiest way to make sure I’m aware you possess these? Read a job advert, note the skills it requires, then mention them by name on your CV. It can be from prior work, internships, even extra-curricular responsibilities but name-drop like you’re a D-list celebrity who once met Simon Cowell.
 
It may sound simplistic but never assume a hiring manager will draw relevant conclusions from two-pages worth of information and background. If they want you to show organisation, leadership, and customer-facing experience, write those actual words on your CV. Hell, put them in bold. I promise that no-one will turn you down for being super-clear about your skills.
 
If your twelve-year-old self can pass a comprehension test, you can still manage it now. Employers want the next CV they read to be the ideal candidate for the role – make it easy for them to decide that candidate is you.