Imagine a job asks for:
Project management, stakeholder management, Excel and customer service.
You have all four.
But your CV says:
Organised different projects, worked with multiple teams and analysed business information.
Nothing there is necessarily wrong.
The problem is that you’re forcing whoever reads your CV to translate your experience for you.
Modern hiring systems make that an especially bad idea.
Reader 1: software
Most large employers use some form of Applicant Tracking System, or ATS.
There is a lot of mythology around these systems.
An ATS is not one universal AI judge that assigns every CV a secret score. Different employers use different systems and configure them differently.
At a basic level, ATS software can parse your résumé into structured information such as your name, previous positions, education and skills. Recruiters can then search, filter and manage candidates inside the system.
For example, Greenhouse and Workable both document résumé parsing in their recruiting products. Greenhouse also warns that some layouts and embedded elements can cause information to be parsed incorrectly.5 6
Some modern recruiting systems go further and offer matching, keyword highlighting or AI-assisted screening.
So don’t try to “beat the ATS.” Make its job easy.
Use recognizable headings. Keep dates, companies, roles and skills clear. And when the employer asks for something you’ve genuinely done, describe it using language they can recognize.
If you’ve managed stakeholders, saying stakeholder management isn’t keyword stuffing. It’s accurate communication.
Reader 2: a human
Eventually, someone needs to understand why you might be good at the job. And they probably aren’t reading your CV like a novel.
The goal isn’t to include everything you’ve ever done. The goal is to make your relevant experience easy to see.
Emphasis. Put the most relevant experience where it is easiest to find.
Language. Use terminology that accurately overlaps with the employer’s terminology.
Compression. Give less space to experience that isn’t relevant to this particular role.
What tailoring should never mean is inventing skills, changing your experience or manufacturing achievements.
Tailor the story. Don’t rewrite reality.
Timing matters too
A great CV still needs to be seen. Employers may begin reviewing applications before a vacancy closes, so Indeed’s general guidance is to apply promptly once you can submit a considered application.7
That does not mean applicant #1 automatically beats applicant #100. It means unnecessarily waiting several days to submit a good application can create a disadvantage without creating much upside.
The better workflow is simple: find relevant jobs early, spend enough time to produce a strong application, submit, then move on.
Don’t optimize for beating an algorithm. Optimize for making your relevance obvious.