Course 1: Improving your CV

A screenshot from my CV course

Thank you to everyone from TikTok Live who has been requesting that I produce a CV course to download and watch online. I've finally done that! The course consists of 29 video overviews across 3 hours and 43 minutes.

It's available free on YouTube, and every episode has its own page below. If you like this, then please consider buying me a coffee:

Start with the welcome video

Watch the whole course on YouTube

Start here

Welcome video + 2 chapters · 11 min

Episode 0: A Welcome From Me (welcome video)
Why I recorded an introduction to the course.
Chapter 1: Introduction & Course Overview (7 min)
What the course covers, and why there's no single right answer.
Chapter 2: My Background & Context (4 min)
Where my advice comes from.

How your CV is read

5 chapters · 74 min

Chapter 3: Understanding the audience for your CV (23 min)
Who actually sees your CV on its way to the hiring manager.
Chapter 4: How recruiters and hiring managers read your CV (15 min)
Scanning versus reading, and what to do about AI screening.
Chapter 5: Deciding on the length of your CV (8 min)
One page, two, or more? A practical guide for the UK.
Chapter 6: Choosing and updating the style of your CV (21 min)
Why I prefer a plain Word layout over the templates, and what to avoid.
Chapter 7: The importance of consistency in your CV (7 min)
Why typos and inconsistent formatting cost you, and how to check.

The top of your CV, and your experience

6 chapters · 55 min

Chapter 8: Introduction to the main sections of the CV (4 min)
A map of the main sections of a CV.
Chapter 9: The "Introduction" section of your CV (6 min)
Keep the top brief: what to include and what to leave off.
Chapter 10: Your CV's Personal Summary section (12 min)
Why I'd skip the personal summary, or keep it to a line or two.
Chapter 11: Your CV's Experience section (22 min)
The most important section: outcomes, not duties.
Chapter 12: Improving your Experience bullet points (6 min)
How to get unstuck on bullet points, using AI for ideas, not for writing.
Chapter 13: More detail on your Experience bullet points (5 min)
The bold-two-words, two-lines bullet structure I recommend.

The other sections

7 chapters · 38 min

Chapter 14: Specific CV styles for certain careers (3 min)
Legal, scientific, architectural and other field conventions.
Chapter 15: The Education Section (7 min)
How much education to show, and where it goes.
Chapter 16: Qualifications & Certifications (5 min)
Where qualifications and certifications belong.
Chapter 17: The Skills section (6 min)
Why a bare list of skills does little, and what to do instead.
Chapter 18: The Voluntary Experience section (4 min)
Where voluntary roles belong at different stages of a career.
Chapter 19: Adding Projects to your CV (6 min)
University and personal projects, and when they help.
Chapter 20: Other CV sections to consider, e.g. Interests (7 min)
Interests, publications, podcasts and public speaking.

Sending it and using it

5 chapters · 34 min

Chapter 21: Including a References section (7 min)
Why "references available on request" adds little.
Chapter 22: CV Formats including Word & PDF (5 min)
Word versus PDF, and why recruiters prefer Word.
Chapter 23: Answering the "So, walk me through your CV?" question (7 min)
How to answer "walk me through your CV".
Chapter 24: Tailoring your CV to different jobs (9 min)
Tailoring your CV to each job without making things up.
Chapter 25: Ideal CV update frequency (6 min)
Why to update it before you need it, and how often.

Finishing off

4 chapters · 14 min

Chapter 26: Information accuracy on your CV (2 min)
Never lie, but don't undersell yourself.
Chapter 27: Confidential information on your CV (5 min)
Showing scale without giving away confidential detail.
Chapter 28: There's no wrong answer - it's your CV, it's personal (6 min)
A reminder that it's your CV, and your decision.
Chapter 29: Questions! (1 min)
A closing prompt for questions.

If you got value from this, please consider buying me a coffee!