CVPebble
Keeping a CV current is not only about adding achievements. A promotion, a completed project, a changed phone number or an expired credential can make yesterday's accurate document misleading today. This checklist is a maintenance review, not a replacement for tailoring or our guide to keeping a master CV.
1. Check what is still current
Read the job title, employer and dates. If you changed roles within the same organisation, show the change rather than silently extending the old title. Use present tense for ongoing duties and past tense for finished work. Do not leave a completed project sounding as if it is still running. An ongoing job does not make every task ongoing.
2. Check credentials and contact routes
Review course names, completion dates and any expiry or renewal status. Do not describe an expired licence as current. If an old credential remains relevant, label its status accurately and check any professional rules. Open your portfolio and profile links, and confirm that your email and phone details still reach you. Remove broken links or replace them with a working destination you are allowed to share.
3. Review evidence without copying private records
Our master-CV guide explains keeping a private record of roles and achievements. Use that record to check facts, not as permission to export internal documents. Keep client identities, confidential figures and restricted project details out unless you are allowed to disclose them. A concrete description of your own task can work without a metric. Fictional maintenance example: replace 'Managing the annual stock review' with 'Completed the annual stock review and recorded discrepancies for the supervisor' only if that is what you actually did. Never copy a fictional example as your history.
4. Save a current master, preserve sent copies
A review every few months is a suggested habit, not a required schedule or a promise that ten minutes is always enough. Review sooner after a role change, completed course or changed contact detail. Keep an access-controlled backup and date your working version. Preserve the exact copy already sent with each application so you can prepare for an interview from the same facts the employer saw. Make a new tailored copy for the next application; a current master is not automatically the right CV to send.
Frequently asked questions
What if nothing changed?
Check the details and links anyway. If they remain accurate, you do not need to invent a new achievement or rewrite good text.
Should I delete every old qualification?
No. Relevance and accurate status matter. Do not imply a credential remains active when it has expired. Rules for regulated roles may require a specific format.
Should I overwrite CVs I already sent?
Keep your own sent copies unchanged. If an employer needs a correction or a newer version, follow its process and identify the replacement clearly rather than assuming an updated local file changes the application.
Keep one master CV, then tailor copies · How to describe work experience clearly ·
Sources and scope
Original general guidance informed by the sources below. Reviewed 5 November 2026. Follow the employer’s instructions. No interview, hiring or ATS result is guaranteed.
Review cadence and version checklist are editorial suggestions, not universal requirements.
