One CV for Multiple JDs: Keywords and ATS

Batch 1, no. 15, covers the basics of an English CV and cover letter. This guide takes the next step: how to turn one master CV into versions for different job descriptions (JDs), while making sure an applicant tracking system (ATS) can read and search it correctly.

1. What an ATS is — and is not

1. Prospects, a UK graduate careers website, explains that employers with high application volumes often use an ATS to screen and rank CVs against JD keywords and track candidates through the process. A related Prospects article notes that applicants with the right qualifications may be filtered out before a recruiter sees them if their materials omit relevant terms.
2. Not every employer uses an ATS, and those that do may not screen by keywords alone. Many systems present the form fields you completed and your uploaded CV together for a person to review. The goal is not to “trick the machine”, but to help the system read your CV accurately and help a person review it quickly.
3. Mainland campus-recruitment systems commonly require online forms and store CV details in structured fields. Some do not allow changes after submission, as stated in China Merchants Bank’s campus-recruitment FAQ. In that case, the form itself is your CV, so put the relevant terms in the appropriate fields.

2. Build a master CV first

1. Your master CV is a source of material, not a file to submit as-is. Include all experience, projects, skills and qualifications; you can write five to eight bullets for each role or project.
2. Write each bullet as “action + object + result”. Quantify the result where possible, but use only figures that are true and that you can explain in an interview.
3. Group skills: professional skills (such as financial modelling or SQL), tools (such as Excel, Python or a Bloomberg terminal, if you have used them), languages (your actual Mandarin, Cantonese and English levels), and qualifications (use the full title, including the paper number of any HKSI exam you have taken).
4. Update the master CV whenever you gain experience. Derive every application version from it.

3. Break down the JD into three lists

When you receive a JD, do not edit the CV straight away. First make three lists:

1. Hard requirements: education, subject, languages, qualifications and work eligibility. If you do not meet one, decide whether it is a firm requirement, such as a qualification for a licensed role (see Batch 1, no. 12).
2. Functional keywords: nouns and verbs repeated in the JD, such as “credit analysis”, “reconciliation”, “stakeholder management” and “data visualisation”. Group synonyms together.
3. Implied requirements: capabilities suggested by the duties. For example, “support several front-office teams” implies prioritisation and communication.

For every keyword, find evidence in your master CV. Put supported terms in the application version. Do not invent evidence for a gap; consider explaining how you are addressing it in your cover letter.

4. Rules for an application version

1. Use the JD’s wording. If it says “financial modelling”, do not write only “modelling”; if it says “KYC”, use “KYC” and spell it out if useful. Prospects likewise advises applicants to understand the JD and person specification, use relevant keywords and write out qualification names in full.
2. Follow the JD’s priorities. Put the most relevant experience and bullets first in each section. Remove irrelevant bullets instead of shrinking the font.
3. Rewrite the profile or opening summary, if you use one, for each version. State the target function and two or three relevant strengths.
4. Maintain Chinese and English versions separately; do not machine-translate one into the other. Hong Kong applications are usually in English. For a mainland employer’s system, follow the system language and retain original English spellings for proper nouns.
5. Name each file clearly with your name, target role and version date, and record it in your tracker (see no. 1 in this batch).

5. Formatting that systems can read

1. Use one column and standard headings such as Education, Experience and Skills. Prospects warns that ATS software may not read images, logos and graphics reliably, so use text.
2. Do not put important details in headers, footers, text boxes or tables; some systems may miss them.
3. Follow the employer’s requested file format. Prospects notes that not every ATS handles PDFs, so check the instructions and, if none are given, prepare both PDF and Word files.
4. Use a consistent date format, for example “Sep 2024 – Jun 2025”.
5. Write the full name of each school, adding its official English name for mainland institutions. Some systems have a school directory. If your school is missing, enter its full official name as instructed; Huawei’s FAQ gives similar guidance.

6. Appropriate uses of generative AI

1. AI can help extract keywords from a JD, check grammar or make a description of your experience more concise. Prospects also suggests using these tools to identify JD keywords.
2. Do not ask AI to invent experience or exaggerate your ability. Prospects warns that this can lead to rejection and have lasting consequences if discovered after you start work.
3. Do not paste confidential employer material or another person’s personal information into a public AI tool.
4. Check every sentence after an AI edit. Be ready to explain every number, tool and responsibility in an interview.

7. Pre-submission checklist

1. Do you meet the hard requirements, or have you explained a gap in your cover letter?
2. Does each of the JD’s five most prominent keywords have supporting evidence in your CV?
3. Can you explain every bullet?
4. Are your contact details current, and is your email address professional?
5. Do the file name and format meet the system’s requirements?
6. Have you logged this version in your tracker?

8. Common misconceptions

1. Copying whole passages from the JD into your CV or hiding keywords in white text. Recruiters can see this and may consider it dishonest.
2. Sending one version to every role. You do not need ten completely different CVs for ten applications, but you should at least adjust each summary, the order of your bullets and the skills section.
3. Packing keywords into the skills section without evidence in the experience section.
4. Changing a job title to appear a better fit. Titles and dates must match the employer’s records; background checks may verify them (see Batch 2, no. 17).

9. Example breakdown (a fictional JD)

Suppose a bank middle-office JD says: handle transaction reconciliations and follow up on exceptions; communicate with front-office and operations teams; organise data with Excel and SQL; KYC familiarity preferred; Mandarin and English required.

1. Hard requirement: Mandarin and English.
2. Functional keywords: reconciliation, exception handling, stakeholder communication, Excel, SQL and KYC.
3. Implied requirements: attention to detail, the ability to move issues across teams, and the ability to handle repetitive work accurately.
4. Find evidence in your master CV:
   1. If you cleaned data with SQL for a course project, describe that and name SQL.
   2. If you reconciled income and expenses for a student society, describe that as reconciliation experience, but do not call it bank transaction reconciliation.
   3. If you have no KYC experience, do not claim any. You could mention public material you have read or a relevant course you are taking in your cover letter.
5. Reorder the CV so reconciliation and data work come first. Shorten or remove marketing experience that is unrelated to the role.
6. In Skills, list Excel (with the functions you have used, such as pivot tables or lookup functions), SQL and your language levels.

This fictional example illustrates a method; it does not describe a real vacancy.

Sources

• Prospects, “How to write a CV”, checked 20 October 2026.
• Prospects, “Using generative AI in job applications”, checked 20 October 2026.
• China Merchants Bank Campus Recruitment FAQ, checked 20 October 2026.
• Huawei Recruitment FAQ, checked 20 October 2026.