If you’ve been signing up to agency sites recently, you may have been offered (and accepted) a free CV review, as part of the sign-up process. Increasingly employers and their agents use software to sift through applications and CV content, dramatically reducing the time it takes them to assess who to invite for interview.

Whilst many employers will advise that the software doesn’t always get it right, it is out there and in use, so it’s worth bearing in mind. However, so is the purpose of the free CV review; whilst it does run your CV through the type of software that may be used, and give you some strong suggestions as a result, you’ll be met at the end with an invite to get your CV professionally re-written to address its shortcomings.

It is therefore worth noting that this is, like anything that appears to be free, part of a sales pitch. That’s not to say that you can’t get some use out of the review; it will give you some pointers that can readily be applied. Mine suggested applying a more achievement based focus, and identified some repetitive use of language. I’ve since run it through again another system, with much better results.