Ten ingredients for a great CV

1. Make sure your CV reflects the job description if you are sending it in for a particular job. If the job description asks for five main qualities in the ideal candidate, make sure those qualities are clearly there on the first page of your CV.

2. Put your name on each page of the CV. Pages get detached, and you do not want to lose half of your career or your referees.

3. Reflect the words used in the job description and job advertisement. If they talk about "personnel", use the word "personnel", rather than "human resources".

4. Put down your highest level of appropriate qualification. And, unless you are just starting your career, you don't need to put down your school.

5. Highlight achievements relevant to the position. You could say: "Was a member of the top billing sales team in the country", or "Pioneered use of different kinds of technology for my department".

6. You may want to write a "personal profile" of yourself, which is like an executive summary about you. You might say that you are "a degree-qualified researcher specialising in European and legal matters". This is an opportunity to demonstrate your narrative skills.

7. Don't leave out useful skills. Things like being able to speak French, or the fact that you have a driving licence, are worth putting down.

8. Tailor each CV to the job you are applying for. If you are an insurance claims manager applying for two different posts – one for a large insurer and one for a niche player – you will want to produce two different CVs. The one for the big company will highlight your experience working for large businesses; the one for the niche player will show you how you can transfer your skills to a smaller player, how you can work in small teams, and how you are happy to help others if things are pressured.

9. If you have gaps in your employment, showing your job history in years rather than months minimises this (eg sales assistant 2001 to 2006; sales manager 2006 to present). If you did some travelling, you can emphasise the positive outcomes you have gained from these experiences

10. Make everything in your CV positive. It should convey a sense of vitality and an image of you progressing confidently through your career.