At Headstar, we work closely with senior finance professionals across Yorkshire and see firsthand what helps candidates stand out in a competitive market. In this blog, one of our Senior Recruitment Consultants Alex Law shares his straight-talking CV advice, built from years of working with senior finance professionals.
Alex on Getting Your CV Interview-Ready
I spend a lot of my life looking at CVs. As a finance recruiter in Yorkshire, I’m scanning CVs for everyone from PQ accountants through to FDs. Some are brilliant. Some make life harder than it needs to be. And a lot of good people undersell themselves just because no one ever showed them how to present what they do.
So, here’s my straight-talking CV advice, based on what actually helps you get shortlisted for an interview.
1. Your CV’s job is not to get you the job
Your CV has one job: to get you an interview. That’s it. It doesn’t need to tell your life story. It doesn’t need to prove you’re perfect. It just needs to make it very obvious, very quickly, that you’re worth a conversation.
So, when you look at your CV, ask yourself: “If I was a time-poor hiring manager or recruiter, would I know within 10 seconds who I am, what I do, and what level I operate at?” If the answer’s no, you need to fix that first.
2. Start with a clear, boring, brilliant header
Top of page one should tell me:
- Your name
- Your location (e.g. “Leeds, West Yorkshire”)
- Your phone number & email
- A hyperlink to LinkedIn (make sure your URL is cleaned up and your profile matches your CV)
Underneath that, add a short professional headline, not an essay. Examples:
- “Part-Qualified Management Accountant (CIMA) – Manufacturing & Operations”
- “Financial Controller – SME & PE-Backed Businesses”
- “Finance Business Partner – Commercial & Strategy-Focused”
Make it easy for people to mentally “file” you.
3. Ditch the fluffy personal profile (or at least fix it)
Most CV summaries look like this: “I am a hardworking, motivated team player who works well independently and as part of a team…”
That tells nobody anything. If you’re going to keep a profile, make it 3–5 lines and brutally specific:
- Your level (PQ / Qualified / QBE)
- Your key strengths (e.g. “month-end & management accounts”, “business partnering non-finance”, “process improvement & controls”)
- Your sector exposure (e.g. manufacturing, retail, not-for-profit, PE-backed)
- What you’re looking for next
Example: “CIMA part-qualified Management Accountant with 4+ years’ experience in SME and PE-backed environments. Strong in month-end, management reporting, budgeting and cashflow, with exposure to stock and margin analysis. Comfortable partnering with non-finance stakeholders and improving Excel-based reporting. Now looking for a role in West Yorkshire that offers study support and progression into a more commercially-focused position.”
That’s the kind of summary that makes me think “OK, I know where this person fits.”
4. Experience: responsibilities and results
This is the section that makes or breaks you.
For each role, follow this structure:
Job Title | Company | Location | Dates (Month/Year – Month/Year) 1–2 lines giving context to the role (size of business, turnover, sector, who you reported to). Then:
- 4–7 bullet points of what you actually did
- 2–4 bullet points of what you delivered or improved
Example of weak bullets
- “Responsible for month-end”
- “Producing reports”
- “Working with other departments”
Example of strong bullets
- “Owned end-to-end month-end process for 4 entities, completing by WD5 consistently.”
- “Produced monthly management accounts with commentary for the FD and senior leadership team.”
- “Business-partnered with Operations to improve stock accuracy, reducing variances by 15%.”
- “Automated manual Excel reporting using Power Query, reducing preparation time from 2 days to half a day.”
Notice the difference?
5. Quantify everything you reasonably can
Finance is about numbers. Your CV should be too.
Even if you’re not in a super-commercial role, you can almost always add numbers:
- “Managing £3m annual overheads”
- “Supporting a £50m turnover business”
- “Reconciled 20+ balance sheet accounts monthly”
- “Improved debtor days from 65 to 49”
- “Reduced month-end from 10 working days to 6”
If I’m comparing two CVs and one has quantifiable impact and the other is just “responsible for X”, guess who gets the call first.
6. Make it recruiter-proof (we skim first, then read)
Brutal honesty: the first pass of a CV is often 10–20 seconds. You can make that work in your favour:
- Use clear section headings: Profile, Key Skills, Experience, Education, Systems, Interests (optional).
- Keep formatting simple: no crazy fonts, no tables that break when uploaded, no photos.
- Use bullet points, not paragraphs: especially in the experience section.
- Keep it to 2–3 pages for most finance roles. If you’re early in your career, you can usually do 2.
If your CV is clean, clear and easy to skim, it naturally feels “more professional” – before anyone’s even read the detail.
7. Tailor it (properly) for the role you want
You don’t need a completely new CV for every job. But you do need to nudge it each time. Look at the job advert and ask:
- What 3–5 things are they really looking for?
- Are those things obvious on page one of my CV?
- Are my bullets using similar language to the advert (without copy-pasting)?
For example, if a role keeps mentioning:
- “Business partnering”
- “Stakeholder management”
- “Commercial analysis”
Then make sure your bullets highlight when you’ve worked with non-finance, challenged assumptions, or helped decision-making – not just “posted journals and reconciled accounts.”
8. Education, qualifications & study – be crystal clear
Especially in finance, where PQ / Qualified / QBE makes a big difference.
Be clear about:
- Your qualification (AAT / ACCA / ACA / CIMA etc.)
- Your status (e.g. “CIMA – 9/12 exams passed, actively studying”)
- Any relevant degree / college qualifications
Put this in its own section and don’t make anyone hunt for it. If you’re studying, add what support you’re looking for (e.g. “seeking role with full study support and exam days”).
9. Systems & tools – more useful than people think
Hiring managers often have a wish list of systems. Don’t underestimate this section.
List what you actually use and at what level:
- ERPs: SAP, Oracle, Sage 200, Dynamics, Xero, Netsuite etc.
- Tools: Excel (say what you actually use: lookups, pivots, Power Query), Power BI, SQL, Google Sheets.
Instead of just “Excel – Advanced”, say something like:
“Excel – confident with pivot tables, lookups, SUMIFS, basic macros and Power Query.”
That’s far more informative.
10. Common red flags (and how to fix them)
A few things that often put doubt in a hiring manager’s mind:
- Big unexplained gaps – a short line explaining them is always advisable.
- Lots of short stints – if this is relevant to you make sure you give context (“fixed-term contract”, “business relocated”, “role made redundant”).
- Responsibilities that don’t progress – if your title changed or responsibilities grew, make that clear.
- Typos and sloppy formatting – it’s harsh, but if your CV is messy or full of typos, people will assume your work isn’t accurate too.
Get someone else to proofread it with fresh eyes to help spot any mistakes you may have missed yourself.
11. Should you use AI or templates?
Quick word on this, given the world we’re in. Templates and AI can help you get started on your CV, but be wary:
- Don’t let a template squash your experience into generic buzzwords.
- Don’t copy-paste AI text that doesn’t sound like you – hiring managers can usually tell
AI tools can be useful to check grammar or help you refine your wording. But the content – the numbers, the examples, the impact – has to come from you.
12. Final thought – your CV is not a verdict on your worth
I speak to a lot of people who feel weirdly emotional about their CV. They’ve been in the same role a long time, or they’re worried they don’t “stack up” against others. Your CV is not a judgement on your career. It’s simply a marketing document.
More often than not, people have done far more than they realise: fixed problems, improved processes, supported better decisions. The job here is just to pull that out and present it clearly for someone who doesn’t know your work yet.
If you work in finance and you’re not sure where to start with your CV, feel free to send it over or drop me a message on alex.law@headstar.co.uk. I’m always happy to give honest, practical feedback – no jargon, no nonsense, just what will help you get more interviews.
About the Author
With over 8 years finance recruitment experience across all sectors, Alex Law specialised in senior finance roles. He joined Headstar in 2021, and with an easy to like personality and a reputation for being a professional, diligent and honest recruiter, he has grown a great network of clients and candidates.
