When I help clients rewrite their CV—or that crucial first page—I often start by interviewing them, because what’s on the surface is rarely the whole story…

“Is this your most up-to-date CV?”
Yes.

“And it includes your key responsibilities and achievements?”
Absolutely!

Then I start reading…

Supported cross-functional collaboration to drive strategic Pharma initiatives.

A bullet point trying to encompass everything by saying absolutely nothing.

“What does that actually mean?”

So, I start digging…
🌱 What was the initiative?
🌱 Who were you collaborating with?
🌱 What was your role?
🌱 What changed because of your work?

Imagine someone in Pharma whose “cross-functional collaboration” turns out to mean coordinating medical, regulatory, and commercial colleagues across four continents to close launch-readiness gaps for a rare disease diagnostic tool—helping the teams meet their designated launch dates in the US, EU, and China.

Now we have something to work with.
A specific piece of work. A scope. A meaningful impact.

Give up the Corporate Jargon. Sound Human.

And yes, companies can be guilty of this “sin” too: job ads so full of corporate jargon that you still have no clue what the heck the job is about.

But I beg you—you don’t have to carry that language into your CV as well.

Give up the corporate jargon and sound (somewhat) human 😄.

Interview yourself: Purpose, Scope, Contribution, outcomes

📌 You can interview yourself, too.

Read each bullet on your CV as though it belongs to someone else.
What would you ask to understand what they actually did?

Look for:
☀️ Purpose: what problem or unmet need were they addressing?
☀️ Scope: which products, markets, therapeutic areas, teams, or budgets? At what scale?
☀️ Contribution: what did they personally do?
☀️ Outcomes: what changed, improved, or became possible?

Use measurable results 📐 where you have them.
Where you don’t, describe an observable 👀 outcome. Don’t invent a percentage just because you think every bullet needs one.

You’re not trying to sound impressive. You’re trying to be factual, specific, and less wishy-washy. Why?

📌 Because how else can you expect to stand out in a flooded market if you sound like everybody else?

Keep asking “What else?”

Give yourself that interview. You might even surprise yourself with what you’ve actually accomplished.

Oh, and don’t stop at the first few bullet points. Keep asking
📌 “What else?”

I bet there are one or two forgotten gems to be uncovered… You can then choose the most relevant ones to highlight.

And if you’d like someone to do the digging with you, that’s part of my work. I bring HR experience, questions, and curiosity to help you uncover—and communicate—the value of what you’ve done.

Because, let’s face it—sometimes, it needs a fresh pair of eyes to spot the treasures where the dust has settled…

With love,

Dina 🫶🏽

Previous related post in this CV-writing series:

• CV tip: How to tailor your CV for a target role
• CV tip: How to write a CV that doesn’t sound like a job description
• CV tip: How long should your CV be?
• Career change strategy: Different moves need different approaches

Resources:

• A little antidote to Corporate jargon:
  Watch my dear friend Peter Sandbach’s brilliant 2016 TED talk, “A cure to Corporate jargon”. It should cure yours too. 🙂

“Your CV has to fit in one page.”
“Your CV must never be longer than two pages.”

I hear these rules constantly—from people I coach, from friends, and sometimes as advice they’ve received from other coaches.

And honestly, they drive me a little insane.

In my 20+ years in HR in Pharma, I’ve never seen such black-and-white advice work. The truthful answer is: it depends.

🌱 For an intern or someone early in their career, one page is often more than enough.

🌱 For a mid-level professional, two pages often make sense, but I’ve also seen cases where three were necessary.

🌱 For a senior professional, three or more may be justified, depending on their background, the target role and whether publications or other relevant evidence need to be included.

🌱 In a career transition, your CV may need to work harder to explain your qualifications and motivation, which may also lead to a two- or three-page CV.

So, instead of asking “How long should my CV be?”, ask:

1. 📌 Have I focused on the most relevant information to get me noticed for this role?
2. 📌 Have I made that relevance already clear on page one?

☀️ That first page is precious real estate.☀️

Pharma recruiters have told me they estimate they spend around 10 seconds on an initial CV scan deciding whether to keep reading or move on to the next one.

In a 2018 eye-tracking study by StepStone Austria and MindTake, 33 HR professionals spent an average of 43 seconds screening a CV.

I’m not sure how far the Austrian study applies to today’s pharma market—regardless—both give you an idea of how little time you may have to catch someone’s attention.

Writing a CV is like writing a marketing headline: every word needs to earn its place.

Your first page should quickly answer:
🌱 What is my professional identity?
🌱 What expertise do I bring?
🌱 What outcomes have I delivered that are relevant to this role?

A three-page CV might use the first two pages for professional experience, with education, further training, languages, and other skills on page three.

If you’ve caught the reader’s attention and shown them relevant experience, they’ll have a reason to keep reading.

And if an MSc, PhD or PMP certification matters for the role, make it visible in the top third of your CV. There are many elegant ways to do so.

How to build that first page is for another post.

For now, before cutting useful evidence simply to meet a page limit—or sending a CV laundry list of everything you’ve done under the sun—ask:

📌 Does this information help the reader understand why I’m a good fit for this role?
📌 Does my first page make my relevance clear, giving the reader a reason to turn the page?

With love,

Dina 🫶🏽

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:

• Access the 2018 study referenced above here

More related posts in the CV-writing series:

• CV tip: How to tailor your CV for a target role
• CV tip: How to write a CV that doesn’t sound like a job description
• CV tip: Is your CV up to date, but still wishy washy?
• Career change strategy: Different moves need different approaches

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.

More related posts in the CV-writing series:

• CV tip: How to tailor your CV for a target role
• CV tip: How long should your CV be?
• CV tip: Is your CV up to date, but still wishy washy?
• Career change strategy: Different moves need different approaches

Is this you?

If you’re a mid-career professional in Pharma, have broad cross-functional experience, and your CV has already been rewritten three times without generating interviews, your next step is not necessarily a fourth rewrite. A polished document cannot compensate for an unclear direction.

☘️ I sometimes hear versions of the same concern: ‘I have a versatile background; I could do a variety of roles; I’ve applied across a wide range of jobs, and… nothing.’

And therein lies the problem.

To take a concrete example

You may have relevant experience for both Patient Advocacy and Chief of Staff roles. But the same CV should not try to make the full case for both at once.

A lack of focus dilutes your value and expertise—especially when competing in a sea of specialists whose experience looks more directly aligned to the advertised role.

☘️ The issue is not the breadth of your competencies; it’s trying to make one CV carry every possible version of your career. Because, what you’re ultimately doing, is asking a recruiter or hiring manager to work out why you’re a credible fit—work they most likely won’t have time for.

So, what do I suggest?

Instead of applying to different job families with one generic profile, use your CV to clearly demonstrate your capabilities and achievements for a defined target role.

📌 So, before rewriting it, I recommend you answer the following questions first:
* What specific role is this CV intended to support?
* Why does that role make sense as your next step?
* What makes you credible for it?
* Which experiences best show the value you would bring?

Get clear about your direction and the story you want your experience to tell first. Then, and only then, should you start your fourth rewrite.

☘️ And once you’ve rewritten it, do one final check:

“Could someone reading your CV explain, in a few sentences, what you’re aiming for, why you’re credible, and what you bring?”

And yes, this means that if you decide to target different types of roles, you’ll need a different CV for each one.

📌 Does your CV describe what you have done—or make a clear case for your next target role?

With love,
Dina 🫶🏽

P.S. Next week, I’ll be sharing more practical thoughts for those with a specialist CV.

More related posts in the CV-writing series:

• CV tip: How to write a CV that doesn’t sound like a job description
• CV tip: How long should your CV be?
• CV tip: Is your CV up to date, but still wishy washy?
• Career change strategy: Different moves need different approaches