A headline in yesterday's Wales Online, Unemployed man notches up 3,000 unsuccessful job applications, has become all too familiar over the last two years.  But, instead of shocking, these sort of stories now just serve to concern job search support providers like us.

Alun Brown, the man at the centre of the story, says that he's prepared to take any role and has submitted applications for a huge variety of positions, yet he has only one CV - which appears on the second page of the article.  Perhaps it's little wonder, then, that employers have struggled to see how Alun's experience might fit with the specific role they're looking to fill.

Alun's CV also features a blank 'Employment' section which must surely act as a deterrent to prospective employers.  There's no need to include employment history in your CV if you don't have any!  Instead, include relevant skills gained from volunteering, hobbies and educational activities which are relevant to the specific role you're applying for.

It's troubling that no one has advised Alun on CV basics in the course of 3000 rejections, so we've included some simple guidelines below to keep in mind if you find yourself in a similar situation.

• Begin with a stock CV. Include all your information, a long and generic personal statement and all your experience - whether acquired from employment or some other field.  Never submit this as an application in itself; instead, draw from it just the relevant experience and information for each individual role you apply for.
• If you have no employment history, include a 'Relevant Experience' or 'Relevant Skills' sections which features details of any additional qualifications you've achieved or experience you've gained in other environments, e.g. the ability to work as a team learned from playing a sport.
• Your CV is about emphasising the skills you do have, not highlighting those you don't.  The word 'none' should never appear - if you're lacking certain skills that might normally appear on a CV, omit the section in question and replace it with something that does play to your strengths.
• If your work experience is particularly short or lacking relevance to a role you're applying for, consider listing your educational history first.
• Make the most of your personal statement. Alun's is short and vague which is a waste of a great opportunity.  If your past experience fails to explain to an employer the reasons you'd like to take their role, or the career trajectory that's steered you there, explain it in your own words in your personal statement.  This is one of the reasons why it's so important to tweak your CV for every role you apply for - your personal statement should vary every time.
• Finally, ask for feedback! If you've received more than three rejections in a row based on your CV alone, alarm bells should ring.  While employers may not offer feedback automatically, they'll almost certainly be happy to provide some at your request.  It's important that you adapt your applications if they're not proving successful, so make sure you get the right information to enable you to do so.

Happy hunting!