By sharing a generic CV, you are more likely to get overlooked against someone who has tailored theirs to the job being applied for. Within the world of publishing, hiring managers will see hundreds of applications for every role posted, but the candidates that get shortlisted are the ones that speak directly to the job in front of them.
With several years experience within publishing recruitment, our advice is to:
Match the language of the job description
If the job ad specifies “commissioning,” “rights management” or “headless CMS,” and you've done that work, we advise using those exact terms. This is because applicant tracking systems and busy recruiters (such as the team here at Redwood Publishing Recruitment) scan for them.
Lead with relevant projects, not job titles
Be mindful that a “Content Editor” role at one publisher might look completely different at another. Instead of relying on your title to do the work, use two or three bullet points under each role that show the specific outputs: titles managed, platforms used, volume handled. The Redwood team has the experience to know the differences - just one of the reasons to use a specialist team.
Quantify wherever you can
Give specific examples. “Managed a list of 40 titles a year” or “Reduced production turnaround by 15%” tells a hiring manager far more than “responsible for production schedules.”
Cut anything older than 10–15 years unless it's directly relevant
Gone are the days when a CV was a potted history of every role you had. Publishing is a fast moving industry, particularly in the digital and production areas, so recent, relevant experience carries more weight than a long history.
Keep a master CV, then tailor a copy for each application
Don't rewrite from scratch every time, but build a comprehensive base document and trim/reorder it for each role's priorities.
In summary, small, targeted changes to your CV can make a significant difference to your shortlist rate, as well as using a specialist recruiter like Redwood.