UbUMade redundantFinding work
Made redundant · Looking for work
Yes, it’s hard. No, it isn’t you.
How to update your CV, how to look for roles without losing your mind, and why the silence is not a verdict.
Applying is a game played in silence.
You send ten applications and hear back from two. Roles get pulled, filled internally, flooded with applicants, or never answered. A rejection says: this role, this time. It does not say: this man. Your confidence will take a knock anyway. That is the process, not the proof.
Your CV used to say who you were. Now it should say what you did.
The title is gone from the present tense, but the work is yours to keep. Seventeen years of it. A CV that lists duties reads like a job description. A CV that lists results reads like a person.
More on getting the job
What makes you smile
Find the part of your CV that makes you smile, and look for work built around it.
Prejudice in hiring
Yes, it is a thing. What the research says, and what you can do.
Imposter syndrome
You do not need to be someone else to get the role.
Using AI
Seven prompts to copy: plan your week, tailor your CV, practise interviews.
Try one thing today
Open your CV. Delete the first line and write a three-line introduction that starts with what you do, not what you were.
The CV, then the search.
Open with a short introduction.
Three lines under your name: what you do, what you are good at, what you are looking for.
Why: It is the first thing a reader sees. The National Careers Service recommends it.
Lead with results, not duties.
Under each role, two or three lines: what you did and what changed because of it. The STAR method helps: situation, task, action, result.
Why: Employers hire for what you can do next, and past results are the evidence.
Tailor it to every advert.
Read the essential criteria and use their words for the things you have really done.
Why: Readers skim. Matching their language gets you through the skim.
Keep it clean.
A clear font like Arial or Calibri at size 11 or above. Headings and bullet points. Leave out age, date of birth and marital status. “References available on request” is enough.
Why: A tidy CV is easier to read, and the easiest to keep updated.
Have one person read it.
Ask them to check spelling and sense, and to say what stands out.
Why: You are too close to your own words.
Search in blocks, not all day.
Two blocks of two hours, with a stop time. Log each application: where, when, and when to follow up.
Why: A search with edges is one you can keep up. A search with none eats the day and the mood.
Tell people what you are looking for.
Three messages a week to people who know your work. Be specific: the kind of role, the kind of company.
Why: People want to help and do not know how until you tell them.
Treat each no as data.
One line: what did I learn? Then close the tab.
Why: It turns a verdict into feedback.
Where to go
- National Careers Service: CV adviceWhat to put in a CV and how to tailor it.