You hear everywhere that you should tailor your CV to every job ad. That's true. But the line between tailoring and embellishing is finer than people think, and crossing it is expensive.
Why the line matters
A recruiter who spots an invented skill, an inflated qualification or a figure you can't explain doesn't just set that line aside. They start doubting everything else. And it happens in the interview, at the worst possible moment, when you're asked to explain exactly what you wrote.
That is why Prizm never adds anything that isn't already in your documents. It isn't excessive caution: it is what makes a tailored CV defensible in front of someone who reads it carefully.
What you can change for each job ad
- The headline at the top of your CV. It is the first thing read. Bringing it closer to the job title, as long as it honestly describes what you do, changes how the rest is read.
- Your summary. The two or three sentences that introduce you can highlight what matters for this particular role, among the things you have actually done.
- The order and selection of your skills. Put the ones the ad asks for first, remove the ones that have no place there.
- How much space each role gets. Expand the one that speaks most to the job, shorten the one that says little.
- The words you use. If the ad calls "client relationship management" what you call "account follow-up", you can use its words, provided you are describing the same work.
What you never touch
- Your employers, your actual job titles and your dates. One phone call is enough to check them.
- Your qualifications and certifications. A qualification in progress stays in progress.
- Your figures. A result gets discussed in interviews: if you can't say where it comes from, it doesn't belong on your CV.
- A skill you don't have. Even if the job ad asks for it, and especially if it does.
The simple test
Before sending a tailored CV, read each line and ask yourself: could I talk about this for five minutes in an interview, with examples? If so, the line belongs there. If you hesitate, it says more than what you actually did.
And when something is missing
Sometimes a job ad appeals to you despite a real gap. Rather than hiding it, show what makes up for it: a closely related experience, a course in progress, a result achieved in a similar context. A gap you own and offset can be defended. A hidden gap gets found out, and it turns against you.