Level PressThe Complete Job Application Handbook
The end-to-end playbook: find the right roles, beat applicant tracking systems and turn applications into interviews.
Level Press
The CV That Gets Read
CV Writing Series
CV Writing · PDF ebook
The CV That Gets Read
Your CV has one job: earn a longer look. This guide shows you exactly what recruiters scan first, how to turn duties into achievements, and how to design a clean, modern CV — no gimmicks, no clip-art skill bars.
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What you'll learn
Pass the six-second scanPut the right information where recruiters' eyes actually land.
Turn duties into achievementsRewrite responsibilities as evidence with numbers that stick.
Structure for your situationLayouts for graduates, career changers and twenty-year veterans.
Write a profile that isn't waffleThree sentences that position you — without the word 'motivated'.
Design with restraintTypography and spacing rules for a premium, readable document.
Stay ATS-safeFormatting that survives every parser intact.
Who it's for
Anyone whose CV hasn't had a serious rewrite in years
Graduates with 'nothing to put on it' (you have more than you think)
Career changers repositioning their experience
Professionals applying upward for the first time
Table of contents
- What a CV is actually forp. 4
- The six-second scan, mappedp. 10
- Structure: choosing your layoutp. 18
- The profile: three sentences, no wafflep. 28
- Achievements, not dutiesp. 35
- Numbers: finding your evidencep. 46
- Skills, education and the bottom thirdp. 55
- Design, typography and white spacep. 63
- ATS-proofing your formatp. 74
- Full example CVs, annotatedp. 81
Look inside
The six-second scan, mapped
Eye-tracking studies agree: recruiters read your name, your current title, your previous title, and your dates — in that order — before deciding whether to keep reading. The top third of page one is your entire first impression.
Chapter Two — Page 10
Achievements, not duties
“Responsible for customer service” describes the job. “Resolved 40+ queries a day with a 96% satisfaction score” describes you. Every bullet on your CV should survive the question: could anyone else in that role have written this?
Chapter Five — Page 35
Frequently asked questions
Does it include CV templates?
Yes — annotated example CVs for graduate, professional and career-change situations, plus formatting specs you can copy.
Will the layouts pass ATS software?
Yes. Every recommended layout is single-column parser-safe, and a chapter explains exactly why.
Is it suitable for academic or creative CVs?
It focuses on standard professional CVs; academic CVs follow different conventions.
How quickly can I fix my CV with it?
Most readers complete a full rewrite in a weekend using the chapter-by-chapter checklist.
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