At 62, I was mortified that I couldn't get a job – here's how I wrote the perfect CV

Telegraph

17-03-2025

Shamefully I haven't needed a proper CV for over a decade. As a freelance writer/editor, most of my jobs have been word-of-mouth recommendations. I'd go into an office for a week and end up staying two years.
But when a seven-year, part-time contract ended, I realised I needed another income stream alongside journalism. At 62, I might not land another Big Job, especially as there are currently 1.5 million people looking for work. But I envisioned covering a maternity leave or two, copywriting, writing press releases for a charity.
I wrote a CV. Agonised about my references. A friend who runs a music recruitment agency kindly looked it over. 'Liz there's too much 'I, I, I' here,' she told me bluntly.
Whoops, lifestyle journalism is very much about first-person experience. But she encouraged me to align my past career more towards the employer's selection criteria. 'They want it to be more about them, not you.'
Excellent advice. Except none of my applications went anywhere. The silence was deafening. With over 25 years' experience on national newspapers and magazines, I was mortified.
It's all about key words like 'growth' and 'insight'
Then one day, I was talking to the brilliant PR Emma Cantrill, 55, founder of Intelligent Profile, a fellow middle-aged woman, who explained she had recently paid a tech guru to optimise her CV and LinkedIn profile through using key words and phrases.
It turns out if you don't reflect all the key words mentioned in a job advert (things like 'value', 'growth', 'insight', 'engagement'), you will fall at the first hurdle.
Her guru was so successful at rewriting her profile, that she has since won lots of new accounts. 'Women our age are not good at blowing our own trumpet. But he helped me to remember all the amazing things I've done in my career.'
Impressed by his skills, she asked him to help her 23-year-old musician son, Jack, with his CV and LinkedIn profile. 'Because of lockdown, he'd had very little careers advice at university. After graduating he ended up doing two years of bar work and delivery jobs. So I invested in a 'first job' CV package for him.'
The CV Whisperer showed Jack how to bring his portfolio together, using key words. 'Reading it made me cry,' Cantrill admits today. 'I thought: 'Oh my God, my son is a genius!''
It worked — Jack was approached by a big educational agency on LinkedIn and has just landed a job as a music teacher. Part of a CV Whisperer's skill is rebuilding confidence. But most importantly, Cantrill told me: 'Optimising your CV helps you to get through the AI robots.'
Humans don't see your CV
What she told me rocked my world. Literally. It turns out that when you apply for a job these days, very few humans ever see your CV. Bombarded by thousands of applications, employers are increasingly using Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) to help their HR team manage the recruitment process.
The ATS system will probably be based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) or a different, but related technology. Nearly every company now uses it to pre-select candidates.
The AI software 'reads' CVs, cover letters, online assessments, and looks for key words, topics or qualifications related to the job description. If your CV doesn't include enough of them, an employer might never see it.
For example, if a company wants an 'administrative assistant,' their ATS will search for that term. CVs that don't contain that exact job title in the headline won't be found. Or if you failed Maths or English O Level back in the day, even though you now have an MSc in careers guidance, ATS may filter you out.
It's so easy to fall at the first hurdle. Especially if, like me, you accidentally send out your CV in a file format (or font) that can't be read by ATS.
When I ask Elle Bradshaw, the founder of Oxford CV Writer, to take a look at my CV, she immediately spots it is formatted as a zip file, which would have sabotaged me immediately. 'The file may not have been delivered, because it may have been caught up in the ATS (i.e. filtered out). If it had been received, then the person tasked with reviewing it might not have had the time or the skillset to unzip files.'
I've no idea how I ended up with a weird zip file. But I should have checked. The experts advise you to send your CV formatted as a plain Word document.
I'm not the only one making rookie mistakes. The whole world of applying for a job has become totally baffling, whether you're 55 or 25. My friends' children are used to firing off endless applications and never receiving a reply. On LinkedIn you read heartbreaking accounts of talented graduates who have never had an interview.
Liz's initial CV
It's worth consulting a CV expert
So how can we compete? How do we write a CV that clears that first AI screening hurdle? Through gentle persuasion (basically begging), I manage to secure a session with Cantrill's CV Whisperer.
He finds my CV neat, business-like, but dated. 'There is no introductory statement to tell the reader about you as an individual, what you do, and what makes you stand out from another candidate. This is usually done with an inspiring personal profile, and supported by illustrative personal achievements throughout the document. Anything that adds colour is useful.'
I also lack an 'elevator pitch' – a structured skills summary that highlights my key skills and works with the software. 'A fundamental requirement in any CV – particularly in today's automated and highly competitive environment.'
As for my long list of previous jobs, he tells me to keep it brief. 'Concentrate on the last 10-15 years. Anything before that is largely irrelevant.' But I should be singing from the rooftops about specific achievements. 'These are of great interest to recruiters. They want to know what you have accomplished, what are you known for, and the value you bring to your employers.'
Ageism is a thing, he agrees. 'We can take out dates so people can't see what your age is.' But then again, if a recruiter spots gaps, it rings warning bells.
On his scoring system, my over-long CV only gets 47 per cent. Deeply embarrassing. 'It would be better as a two-page document. And most importantly the CV is not AI-friendly – it doesn't contain the right keywords to interact effectively with the new recruiting software.'
On the bright side, there aren't any spelling or grammar mistakes (phew). It reminds me of school when I used to get 2/10 for Physics - one mark for a straight margin and one for the correct date!
Luckily the CV Whisperer knows how to redraft my CV. First he asks me for a list of my strengths and attributes (like most midlife women I find this agonising) and examples of the type of job I might apply for.
Then we do a 30-minute interview where he asks courteous but probing questions. How did my career first start? What do I want to do more of? 'Focus on anything spectacular you've done that has lasting relevance.'
It's a bit like a therapy session. And 10 days later my new CV pings across. It looks amazing. Is this really me? He's presented me as an accomplished media professional who can interview everyone from Hollywood stars to heart surgeons. My skills and achievements take centre stage (and my boring old O and A levels have been chopped).
I blush as I read his glowing take on a career that has sometimes felt slightly adrift. Everyone needs a CV Whisperer to big them up, I now see.
Liz's new-and-improved CV
Sadly my tech guru is booked up for the next five years, but his tips (below) are invaluable. And there are lots of other professional CV writing companies out there who can help.
It costs around £120-£200 to pay a tech whizz to polish your CV (plus an extra £200 if you also want help rewriting your covering letter). Of course if you're between jobs, every penny counts. But Cantrill thinks it's a vital investment in our future. Plus most CV writers offer a free taster session (a 15-minute chat; or a short analysis of your current CV).
When I have the funds I'll ask a tech whizz to optimise my LinkedIn profile, too (around £250). Lazily I probably update it once a year, but it's a vital marketing tool, Cantrill tells me. And those key words are essential. 'These days if I try to link-in with somebody senior or high-profile, more often than not, they will connect with me. So I know it's working.'
It's clearly the future. Earlier this month a news story revealed half of those searching for jobs are now using ChatGPT to write cover letters, improve their CV, formulate interview answers. Employers may complain it erodes individualism. But that's what we're up against.
Though I'm heartened, Elle Bradshaw still believes in a CV written by a human. 'Robot-led CV writing makes you sound generic, keyword-stuffed, foreign or misaligned to the job description. I can spot it a mile off, and so can most HR people. It's the same wording, line spacing, punctuation and it's cliche-ridden. So ironically you might then be rejected for not being a real person!'
It's far better to try to craft an authentic voice that works in an AI landscape, the CV Whisperer tells me. 'There's no getting away from it. We can either do battle with it, or we can choose to work with it.