Guides
CV & application guides
Evidence-first guides on tailoring your CV, writing STAR stories, and what an ATS really does — written to teach you the craft, not to sell you a shortcut.
Can an AI chatbot tailor your CV for a job?
Run one posting and one CV through a general-purpose chatbot, then through a fit report, and see what each procedure hands back — plus four checks you can run on any tool's output.
How an ATS reads your CV — and what it doesn't
What an applicant tracking system actually does with your CV — parsing, knockout questions, recruiter search and match views — each step linked to the vendors' own documentation, then what helps and what doesn't.
Reusing one STAR story across job applications
What stays fixed in a STAR story and what you adapt per application — one story shown against two postings side by side, and a test for when your library has a hole rather than a duplicate.
A STAR story for the requirement your CV lacks
When a posting asks for something your CV doesn't evidence, decide first whether the gap is real — then build an honest STAR story from what you did, or say plainly that you haven't.
Turning a messy project into a STAR story
How to get one honest STAR story out of a project that ran too long, belonged to too many people and only half worked — scope the decision, state the real result, say "I" without inflating it.
How to write a STAR story from your own experience
How to turn one ordinary piece of your own work into a complete STAR story — a real example carried from a one-line CV bullet to a finished story and back, with honest non-numeric results.
Pull the right keywords from a job posting
How to read a job posting and pull the exact keywords that belong on your CV — which terms carry weight, where to place them, and how to stay honest doing it.
Common CV tailoring mistakes to avoid
The mistakes that undo a tailored CV — keyword stuffing, cosmetic edits, dishonest framing, over-tailoring — with a plain, honest fix for each one.
Tailoring your CV for a career change
How to tailor your CV when switching careers — reframe transferable evidence, answer the "why you" doubt, and show that you fit the new role honestly.
How to tailor your CV to a job description
A practical, step-by-step guide to tailoring your CV to a specific job — read the posting, mirror its language, and prove you fit without inventing anything.
What to cut from your CV for each role
Tailoring is subtraction as much as addition. What to remove from your CV for a specific role, and how cutting the wrong-fit lines makes the right ones land.