Most CVs describe the job, not the person
Your CV probably undersells you because it lists the duties you were given rather than what changed because you did them. Anyone in the role could list the same duties, but only you know what changed.
The job description is easy to copy because someone wrote it down for you. Your results were never written down. Naming them can also feel like boasting, so people fall back on phrases like responsible for and involved in. The page is accurate but tells the reader little.
People also stop noticing what they do well. A fictional deputy head rebuilt the cover rota so his school spent less on supply staff. He would not list it as an achievement. To him it was that term's problem, and he fixed it.
The first read is a skim lasting seconds
In 2018 Ladders, a commercial careers site for jobs paying $100,000 or more, published an eye-tracking study of recruiters. The first screen of a CV averaged 7.4 seconds. Recruiters skimmed for layout, job titles, keywords and how the text flowed.
Simple layouts with clear sections did best. CVs did not fare well when clutter, several columns or long sentences got in the way. Ladders is a business with services to sell, so weigh the exact figure with that in mind.
The pattern is still useful. The first read is a skim, and a recruiter decides from it whether to read on. So keep job titles plain and sections clear. An outcome buried at the end of a long sentence is easy to miss. Put the result early in the line, in plain words, with a number if you have one.
What a duty looks like next to an outcome
Take a fictional head of year in her third year in post. Her CV says: responsible for pastoral care and attendance for Year 9. That is true, and every head of year in the country could write it.
Now ask her three questions. What was the problem when you started? What did you change? What was different by the end of the year? Her answers change the line completely.
The new line reads: cut Year 9 persistent absence at her school from 18 pupils to 11 in a year, through weekly check-ins with form tutors.
The second line is not boastful, just specific. A reader can picture the work, judge its size and ask a sensible follow-up question in an interview.
Turn duties into outcomes without exaggerating
Work through one role at a time, starting with the most recent. For each duty on the page, ask the questions below and write the answer as a single line. If you cannot answer them, keep the duty short so the keyword stays, and spend your words elsewhere.
- What was the situation before you acted? A number helps, but a plain description works.
- What did you decide or do yourself, as distinct from what the team did?
- What was different afterwards, and over what period?
- How would someone check it: a report, a set of results, a colleague who saw it?
- Does the line start with the result rather than the duty?
Honest verbs carry more weight than big ones
Worrying about exaggerating is healthy. Act on it by choosing the verb that matches what you did. Led, wrote, chaired and designed claim ownership. Contributed to, supported and helped with claim a share. Use whichever is true.
Claim to have led a project you only supported, and one question about your decisions will expose it. The interviewer then doubts the rest of the page.
Watch for verbs that hide the work, such as managed, oversaw and handled. Each is fine with an object and a result attached. On its own it tells the reader nothing about what you did.
When there is no number
Plenty of good work has no tidy figure, such as a policy rewritten after a complaint or a team that stopped losing staff. You can still show the outcome.
Describe the change in terms a stranger would understand. Who used the thing you made, and for how long? What stopped happening? What were you asked to do next because of it?
Take this line from a fictional assistant head: rewrote the staff behaviour policy, later adopted by the trust's other two schools. It needs no percentage.
Fix one role this week
Do not rewrite the whole CV in one sitting. Take your current or most recent role, list every line under it, and rewrite each one with the questions above. Cut any claim you could not explain in an interview. Four to six strong lines beat ten weak ones.
Then read only the opening words of each line. If they name a duty, move the result forward.
Write results down when the work finishes, not when you next apply, because the detail fades fast. OTO Careers keeps them in a private career record with the evidence attached, and sign-up opens soon. It builds a single-column PDF CV from the sections you choose. A plain document kept up to date also works.
Key questions
Why do capable people write weak CVs?
Most copy their job description, avoid naming results in case it sounds like boasting, and stop noticing the things they do well.
What do recruiters look at first on a CV?
In a 2018 study by Ladders, a commercial careers site, recruiters skimmed CVs for 7.4 seconds on average, checking layout, job titles and keywords.
How do I turn a duty into an outcome?
Ask what was wrong before, what you did yourself and what changed afterwards. Then write one line that starts with the result.
How do I describe results without exaggerating?
Use the verb that matches your real part, such as led or supported. Keep only claims you could explain in detail at interview.
What if my work has no measurable result?
Describe a change a stranger would understand, such as who used your work, what stopped happening, or what you were asked to do next.