You may be wondering how to update a CV which I have written for you. Perhaps you need to add a new role, or to tailor your CV to a different career path. This blog post explains how to update a CV which I have written, and includes tips to make this as easy as possible.

Before you start

Open the MS Word (.docx) version of your CV. I will also have sent you a .pdf copy of your CV, which is a fixed format which can only be edited using specialist PDF editing software.

Before you start updating your CV, check your copy and paste settings in MS Word, so you can copy and paste the text without losing your CV style / formatting.

• Click on File > Options > Advanced and scroll down to “Cut, Copy and Paste Settings”
• “Pasting within the same document” – select “Keep source formatting”. This tells Word to keep the current style formatting when you paste new content within the same document
• “Pasting between documents” – If you wish to copy content into your CV from another document and want this to match your CV style, select “Match destination formatting.” If you want to paste your current CV style / format into a new MS Word document, select “keep source formatting.”
• “Pasting between documents where style definitions conflict” This requires the same settings as the previous bullet point.
  

You may find it helpful to read the blog posts explaining how to tailor your CV and keyword optimise your CV, before you start updating this. This ensures your updated CV emphasises the required skills, and contains the correct keywords to pass through recruitment tracking systems to reach the recruiter.

Adding a new role

The easiest way to add a new role is to copy and paste your previous role description, and overwrite this with your new job title, company, dates and role description.

To do this, highlight your current role, press Ctrl C (or you can right-click and press copy), put your cursor where you wish to paste this and press Ctrl V (or you can right-click and press paste). This should maintain your current CV style, so you can simply overwrite the text with your new details. You can overwrite text in any section with no need to copy and paste.

If this doesn’t paste correctly, press Ctrl Z (or undo), then check the cursor is correctly placed in an area of similar formatting and try again. If it still doesn’t paste correctly, check your copy and paste settings against the recommendations above.

CV Styles

Your CV is formatted using CV styles, which are located in the home menu and should be visible in the menu above your CV content. Each style begins with your CV style name e.g. classic, contemporary, spotlight, timeless, shadow etc. The styles include name, bullets, key achievements, profile, subheadings etc. Your CV only contains the style you have chosen, so if you have chosen the spotlight style the styles will be called spotlight name, spotlight bullets etc.

You can quickly format text to match the rest of your CV by checking the style name in a correctly formatted section, highlighting the text you wish to change, and changing the style. This quickly resolves issues such as an incorrect font, or font size or bullet points which do not line up with the other text.

Saving Your CV as a PDF

Most companies accept CVs in either MS Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) format. If you edit your CV using MS Word this will display correctly across all devices.

Occasionally people wish to edit their CV using a programme such as Pages, Libre Office or Open Office which are compatible with MS Office. When a document is created or edited in these programs, the formatting may be slightly different when opened in MS Office. Therefore, I recommend saving your CV as a .pdf to ensure this is correctly formatted on all devices. You may wish to download and install a free PDF writer, such as CutePDF writer.

Ask me to update your CV for you

I can update your CV for you if you prefer. I’ll ask you to send me your CV and a target job description, we can then arrange a quick call to discuss your experience relating to the role. It typically costs £40-£50 to discuss and add a new role to your CV.

If you would like assistance updating your CV, please send your current CV and a target job description to becky@interviewsuccess.co.uk, or call me on 07917 137210. You can find more information on my CV writing services on the CV writing page of my website.