Want to land your dream role? Shape up your CV with these essential tips:

1) First impressions

Do not begin your resume with the word ‘resume' – your potential employee knows what it is. Begin with your name, then state your contact details. 

2) Email address

On that note, check your email address – [email protected] does not impress anyone. This may have been cool in chat rooms but it says nothing about you professionally. 

3) Email provider 

If you're applying for a job in a forward-thinking profession then use an email provider that shows you are forward thinking person. Better yet, secure your own personalised address.

4) Professional summary

A short summary of who you are and what you're looking to achieve is your initial ‘sell' and extremely important. Keep it concise and impactful.

5) Formatting 

Keep your CV succinct and easy to read. You want it to get all of the essential information across even with a quick scan.

6) Be quantitative

Where possible, show the result of your work in a way that measures your performance and allows your potential employer to recognise your worth to their business.

7) Explain the gaps

If you've been travelling, explain this. Don't just hope that they won't notice a year's break. It's ok to travel and have time off if this has added to your personal experience.

8) Add personality

The best employers employ for both personality and skill. Show that there's more to you by adding some personal interests and things that you do outside of work.

9) Target what you are saying

Write your resume for each job you apply for. A cut/copy approach to a job seeking is obvious to people that read hundreds of resumes per day and won't get you past the HR team.

10) Spell check 

This one is both the most important thing to remember and the easiest to get right. Read and re-read your resume and spellcheck for errors. Spelling mistakes in a resume indicate you have a sloppy approach to work.