Written By: Lydia Dijkstra | Personal LinkedIn

Want More Job Interviews? Customize Your CV – Every Time.

I used to send out a lot of job applications. Most of them got no response. A few were declined. Maybe one out of twenty led to an initial interview. Overall, not a great success rate.

I kept hearing from professionals:

“Tailor your CV for each role.”

But honestly? I thought, “I don’t have time for that.”

That changed when I applied for a job through a middleman. I sent him my standard CV, and he told me:

“You need to change the title of your CV.”

It’s something I’d heard many times before, but this time, because it was a personal recommendation, I actually did it. I adjusted the title, sent the updated CV and I passed the screening and got an interview.

That one positive response shifted my mindset. I started tweaking my CV more often: adjusting the title, slightly changing the “About Me” section and the listed skills to fit each role. And guess what?

Suddenly I was getting interviews.

Instead of 1 out of 20, I was getting 6 out of 20.

Now I know, looking at the job titles I applied for, you might say I was "cheating" for not solely applying to SE-jobs. I have over 10 years of experience in customer service and a certification in software engineering. In most cases, I applied to roles that combined both, like tech-related support jobs where I naturally had a good chance.

But here’s the kicker:

Even for a pure software engineering role, my updated CV got me an interview.

In addition to customizing your cv, you should write a coverletter as well!

”Oh no, even more time intesive!” Well, let’s use AI for this. I like ChatGPT most for this task.

• Copy the job description you are applying for

• Paste it into AI

• Add a prompt to write a cover letter, something like this: “Which skills should I highlight in my cv. And please write me a short coverletter which is enthusiastic, in the language <xy language>, which highlights my motivation <xy motivation>, experience <xy experience> and skills <xy skills>. Write it as if it was written by human, not AI, and without any emoticons.”

• Read and update the coverletter if nescesary

• Copy and paste into your standard cover letter

• Don’t forget to update the address, the date and the subject-field

✅ My advice:

Don’t skip customizing your CV and make AI write a coverletter.

It doesn’t mean rewriting everything from scratch. Sometimes, just changing the title, reshaping your “About Me,” and focusing your skills section can make all the difference.

This really helps you stand out from the hundreds of applications the company receives. Good luck.