Almost a third of employers only read a CV for a minute before deciding whether to interview the jobseeker, according to research by Chiumento HR consultancy.

About half of employers said a covering letter was just as important as a CV, and two-thirds said the letter should be addressed to the recruitment or HR manager.

The main reasons cited for rejecting a CV were irrelevance to the role (27%), inappropriate qualifications (22%) and poor presentation (12%).

Henry Armstrong, director of outplacement and career transition at Chiumento, says: “CVs are one of the most important tools in finding a new role, yet employer preferences for style and format vary year on year. Getting it right can mean the difference between getting your foot in the door, or ending up in the 'no thank you' pile.”

More than half (55%) of respondents said they preferred to see a reverse chronological order CV, and a quarter said they wanted a CV that was tailored to a specific role.