Your CV should not read like a job description.

If you’re a specialist with a clear target role, relevant experience and a well-written CV–but you’re still not getting interviews–this may be why.

Most CVs I see describe what someone was responsible for:

• Managed X
• Coordinated Y
• Supported Z
• Led meetings
• Prepared presentations

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But to stand out, you want recruiters and hiring managers to understand:

📌 What difference did you make?

For example:

❌ Managed the preparation of regulatory submission documents.

To move beyond task-based bullet points, here’s one question that can help:

📌 So what?

In other words: Why should anyone care? Why does this matter

**Let’s take our earlier example & follow that thread**

🌱 Managed the preparation of regulatory submission documents.

So what?

🌱 It was a complex simultaneous submission for two major markets: EU & US.

So what?

🌱 Different authorities required different inputs, and the work had to be completed quickly to get ahead of a competitor.

So what?

🌱 The submission was delivered on schedule, approved in both markets, and helped make the treatment available to patients.

⭐️ Now we have the substance for a stronger bullet ⭐️

✅ Led a complex simultaneous regulatory submission for the EU and US markets, coordinating distinct Clinical, Safety and Technical Operations requirements under a time-critical deadline–securing approval in both markets before a competing product launch.

Obviously, only make claims that are true and that you can substantiate in an interview. Otherwise, you could also say:

✅ Led a complex simultaneous regulatory submission for the EU and US markets, coordinating distinct Clinical, Safety and Technical Operations requirements under a time-critical deadline–securing approval in both markets and enabling a timely product launch.

**So, a useful formula is**

📌 What you did + context or complexity + outcome / impact

You may have also noticed that not every achievement needs a percentage or a dramatic “saved X million” conclusion.

⭐️ Impact can be measurable or observable ⭐️

• A process became clearer or faster by X.
• A risk was identified or reduced by Y.
• A difficult project moved forward or delivered in X time rather than Y.
• A stakeholder was persuaded or X patients were reached.

The point is not to make your role sound grander than it was. It’s to make the value you created visible.

**So, take one bullet point from your CV today and ask yourself**

📌 Does this tell the reader what I did–or what changed because I did it?

So what?

⭐️ Specificity is (almost) always your best friend 😊 ! ⭐️

With love,

Dina 🫶🏽

P.S. Next week, I’ll tackle a persistent CV myth: the one-pager.

P.P.S. Once a week I try to focus on helpful CV tips. Anything you’ve always been curious about? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try to cover them next.

Resources:

• Previous related post: CV tip: How to tailor your CV for a target role