You want your CV to reflect the current you - so spruce it up regularly

Once you've created your perfect online CV, it's tempting just to leave it on your chosen databases. But, as your skills and circumstances change and evolve, you'll need to keep your CV up-to-date to do you justice. Here's how.

Ensure your CV still sells you

Above all, your CV is a marketing tool designed to get your first face-to-face meeting with prospective employers. Check that it's presenting the most favourable picture of you by constantly reviewing your skills summary. You'll be learning new things and achieving new goals all the time at work - your CV needs to reflect this development.

Are the basics right?

Check your contact details and personal information. Have you still got the same email address? Have you changed your mobile phone number? Your personal details have got to be correct, otherwise employers may not be able to contact you.

Check your key words To ensure employers can find your CV quickly and easily for relevant jobs, it's essential to include key words and phrases related to the job you want. Key words relating to the role you want can change, however, so make sure yours are still current. Check out the key words and phrases used in job descriptions of the type of job you want, and make sure you include them in your CV.

Get it to the top

Some databases allow employers to search CVs by the last date they were amended, so freshening yours up from time-to-time will make it appear higher on the list.

Learned anything new lately?

If you've acquired any new non-work skills or taken up a hobby that could help you in your job search, don't forget to add the details to your CV.

Do some reordering

Educational qualifications become less important the older they are. If you created your CV when you'd just left college, you've probably put your qualifications before your work experience. Reverse this order if you've now got work achievements to write about. Similarly, you'll need to take out or shorten references to jobs you had a long time ago.

Try different tacks

Periodically updating your CV will allow you to see how employers respond to changes and different approaches. You might want to experiment with a CV that sets out your work experience in a functional, rather than chronological format, for example. The amount of times your CV is viewed will help you assess the impact of any changes you make.