Creating a CV that gets noticed by employers requires clarity, structure, and relevance. Hiring managers sift through numerous CVs, so yours needs to make a strong impression from the start. Here’s what they’re looking for and how to make your CV stand out:

1. Structure it clearly

Start with your contact information at the top: name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn profile. Next, include a personal summary—a brief overview of your key skills, experience, and goals. Keep this to a few sentences that convey your strengths effectively.

  • Skills: List your top skills in a dedicated section. Focus on skills that align with the job description, making it easy for recruiters to see what you bring to the table.
  • Experience: Start with your latest role and work backward. Rather than listing tasks, highlight your contributions and results. For instance, instead of “Managed a team,” try “Managed a team of five, increasing project efficiency by 25%.”

2. Tailor it for each role

A generic CV doesn’t capture the unique needs of each position. Review the job description and pull-out keywords, especially specific skills, tools, or certifications that match your experience. This helps ensure your CV aligns with the role and improves its chances with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which scan CVs for relevant terms.

3. Stick to a professional, simple design

Choose a clear layout with consistent formatting and enough white space. Use an easy-to-read font like Arial or Calibri, size 10-12, and avoid distracting colours or graphics. This keeps the focus on your experience and makes it easy for recruiters to navigate.

4. Focus on achievements, not just duties

Employers want to see what you’ve accomplished in each role. Use specific numbers and results where you can. Example:

  • Instead of: “Managed construction site activities.”
  • Try: “Coordinated daily site operations for a £10 million infrastructure project, improving project timelines by 10% and reducing downtime by 15%.”

5. Include action verbs and relevant keywords

Start bullet points with action verbs like “Led,” “Developed,” or “Achieved.” These words show initiative and clearly communicate your contributions. Incorporate keywords naturally to match the role description but avoid overloading your CV with terms—make sure each word adds value.

6. Avoid common pitfalls

  • Typos and Grammar Errors: Proofread carefully or ask someone else to review.
  • Clichés: Terms like “hard worker” or “excellent communicator” are overused. Show these traits instead through examples.
  • Length: Keep your CV focused, ideally within one or two pages. Emphasise recent and relevant experience.

Top 5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Applying for Built Environment Jobs  – Advance TRS

Creating a standout CV in the built environment sector means focusing on structure, relevant skills, and clear achievements. Tailor each application to the role, use metrics to highlight your impact, and keep formatting clean and professional. By showing to hiring managers not just what you did, but how you contributed, you’ll improve your chances of securing an interview.

Need an up-to-date CV? Read our CV writing tips! – Advance TRS

For more career tips or to explore opportunities with Advance TRS, check out our latest jobs, here.

The last few months have seen a lot of change. If you have found yourself looking for a new opportunity in the post-COVID world, here are some job search tips!

Engage a specialist recruiter

Good recruiters will have a comprehensive understanding of your market and current opportunities. Engaging recruiters is a quick way of tapping into this knowledge to help you in your search. They can proactively represent you! Even better, they already have a relationship with the hiring managers and can guide you through the process, from interviews and salary negotiation through to offer and onboarding.

Update your CV

It is very important to get your CV right as it is often the first impression potential employers have of you. Make sure you have a clean and clear layout and TRIPLE check your spelling and grammar. Get someone else to check it over for you as well. Highlight your key relevant experiences, education and certifications. Include all the details in your last 3 jobs, as this is likely to be how far your potential employer or a recruiter looks. Make sure your CV doesn’t go over 2 pages if possible!

You can find example CV’s and CV templates here.

Read our CV writing tips here.

Update your online CV

Your social media profile can act as a virtual CV, it’s there 24/7 as your own personal advert to the job market. The sites you need to create or update are your LinkedIn Profile and your chosen Joboard accounts.

Create a LinkedIn profile or update your existing profile by detailing your relevant skills and experience to maximise your online presence. The more experience you detail, the more searches you will appear in. Share your profile edits to draw attention to your refreshed profile among your followers.

The number 1 reason people change jobs is career opportunity and the number 1 way people discover a new job is through a referral. Social professional networks are the number 1 source of quality hires, followed by internet job boards and employee referrals. Now that LinkedIn has over 5 million members, businesses and recruiters are utilising this to look for new talent!

You can choose to show recruiters and hiring managers, who are searching for potential candidates, that you are ‘open to opportunities’ on LinkedIn. This will not be visible to your current company but will alert hiring managers and recruiters that you are open to approaches!

Read more guidance on our advance advice page.

If you are looking for a new job in Rail, Property, Water, Utilities or Construction, contact us today on 01483 361061 or contact us via email here. We have plenty of permanent and contract roles across all of our sectors and our recruiters are here to help!

Have you got a job interview coming up? Thinking of looking for a new job in the New Year? Haven’t been to a job interview for a while? Is it your first interview?

If you’re not sure where to start with preparing yourself, or you’re not sure it’s possible to prepare yourself, here are five tips for making sure you are ready for that all important day.

1. Make sure you know the company

If you don’t know much about the company, start reading up on them before the interview. A good place to look first is on their website.

2. Have background knowledge of the Industry

If you already think you know a lot about the industry, then try to sharpen up your knowledge.

If you don’t have much knowledge about the industry because you’re making a career move – do some research! You can do this by speaking to people in the industry or you can do some online research.

3. Think about your strengths and weaknesses

This is a question that most interviewers ask. Some people become a little bit stuck or are nervous about what to say about themselves. It’s sometimes hard to tell someone what you’re good at and let’s face it, you don’t want to tell them that you’re not so good at anything, it’s a job interview after all! The interviewers are going to appreciate honesty. If you come across honest, they will appreciate it.

Think about what strengths you will be bringing to the table if they decide to hire you! These might be organisational skills, timekeeping, knowledge of the industry, knowledge about the job, experience, decision-making skills etc. If there is anything within those skill sets you aren’t 100% confident with, have a think about that too. Make sure that if the interviewer does ask you what your weaknesses are, you say, for example, ‘I would love to improve my decision-making skills’ rather than ‘I’m not very good at decision making’

Always keep it positive!

4. Make sure you know your CV

The only thing the Interviewers know about you is the information that is on your CV and on your application you filled out for the job. Make sure you know what experiences on your CV are relevant for the role you are applying for. This will help you prepare for any questions they might have for you.

5. Write down any questions you have

This might be about the job or even about the company. The interviewers will be impressed that you want to know a bit more about what they do as a company, and they will also appreciate that you have questions about the job you are applying for!

A few other things to think about:

  • First impressions are vital – dress smartly.
  • Plan your travel to be early to your interview, not just on time!
  • If you have any work or evidence that would support your application, bring it with you.
  • A good handshake is always a positive start.
  • Relax, smile often, be friendly and try to calm your nerves.

Looking for a job in the Rail, Property, Construction or Water & Utilities industry?

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