Getting started with CV Tailor: complete setup guide for 2026

Applying to multiple roles with one generic CV is one of the most common reasons candidates get filtered out before a human ever reads their application. CV Tailor solves that by keeping a single master CV on file and running a structured, multi-agent pipeline for every job description you paste in.

CV Tailor is totally free for candidates. Register with email, add your own OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Cursor API key in Settings, and use the full tailoring pipeline at no charge — you only pay your AI provider for the tokens each job uses.

This guide walks you through everything from account creation to exporting your first tailored CV — including provider setup, gap analysis, and the human verification step that keeps your application honest.

Why tailor your CV per job?

Recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) look for alignment between your experience and the role requirements. A CV written for a generic "software engineer" position will underperform against a posting that emphasises Kubernetes, event-driven architecture, and B2B SaaS experience — even if you have all three.

Tailoring does not mean rewriting your entire career history every time. It means:

• Adjusting your professional summary to mirror the role title and seniority
• Surfacing the most relevant bullets for each requirement
• Including domain keywords that ATS parsers expect
• Removing or de-emphasising experience that distracts from the target role

CV Tailor automates that workflow while keeping you in control at the verification stage.

Step 1: Create your account

Visit the registration page and sign up with your email and password. After login you land on the dashboard, where all tailoring jobs are listed with their current pipeline phase.

Your account stores:

• Your base CV (uploaded once, reused for every job)
• AI provider settings (OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Cursor)
• Job history including inputs, gap answers, and generated outputs

No credit card is required. CV Tailor does not charge subscription or usage fees — AI costs come only from the provider and model you configure with your own API key.

Step 2: Upload your base CV

Navigate to Base CV and either:

• Paste markdown directly into the editor, or
• Upload a .md or .pdf file (PDFs are converted to markdown automatically)

Your base CV should be comprehensive — include all roles, projects, skills, and education you might draw from. Think of it as a master document, not the version you send to employers. The pipeline will select and reshape content per job.

Tips for a strong base CV

• Use clear section headings: Experience, Education, Skills, Projects
• Write bullets with action + scope + outcome (e.g. "Reduced API latency by 40% for 2M daily users")
• List tools and technologies explicitly — ATS systems match on exact strings
• Keep dates consistent (Jan 2021 – Mar 2024 or 2021–2024)
• Avoid tables, text boxes, and multi-column layouts in the source file

The better your base CV, the better every tailored output will be.

Step 3: Configure your AI provider

Open Settings and choose a provider:

Add your API key in the password field if you are not using server-side environment variables. Keys are stored securely and never returned to the browser after save.

All tailoring jobs use this configuration until you change it. You do not need to re-enter settings per job.

Step 4: Create your first tailoring job

From the dashboard, click New job and:

1. Give the job a title (e.g. "Senior Backend Engineer — Acme Corp")
2. Paste the full job description — include responsibilities, requirements, and nice-to-haves
3. Submit to start the analyse phase

The pipeline runs automatically through these phases:

Phase 1: JD parsing

An agent extracts structured data from the job description:

• Role title and company
• Must-have and nice-to-have skills
• Years of experience required
• Domain keywords and tech stack
• Key responsibilities

Phase 2: Gap analysis

Your base CV is compared against the parsed requirements. You receive a gap report showing:

• Matched skills — strong alignment
• Weak matches — partial or implied experience
• Missing areas — skills or domains not clearly present
• Questions — prompts for you to clarify before rewriting

Phase 3: Human verification

This is the most important step. Answer each question honestly:

• Pick a suggested option if it fits, or write a custom answer
• Do not claim experience you do not have — recruiters will probe in interviews
• Use this step to emphasise transferable skills where direct matches are missing

Phase 4: Generation

After verification, the pipeline rewrites your CV through multiple specialist agents:

• CV rewriter — role-specific bullet refinement
• Boring rewriter — removes clichés and weak phrasing
• XYZ rewriter — adds measurable impact where possible
• Recruiter analyser — scores match quality and flags red flags
• ATS formatter — produces clean, parseable output

You can watch progress in real time via the pipeline inspector.

Step 5: Review and export

Before submitting any application:

• Read every bullet on the generated CV
• Verify dates, company names, and metrics are accurate
• Check that the tone matches the role (startup vs enterprise, IC vs lead)
• Export as markdown or PDF from the job workspace

AI can hallucinate details or overstate scope. You are responsible for the final document.

Common questions

How long does a job take?
Analysis typically completes in a few minutes depending on provider speed and job description length. Generation adds a few more minutes across rewrite phases.

Can I re-run a job?
Yes. Update gap answers or re-analyse if the job description changes.

Is my data private?
Your CV and job descriptions are stored in your deployment's database and sent to your configured AI provider for processing. See our Privacy Policy and FAQ.

What if I apply to many similar roles?
Create one job per application. Each job snapshots your base CV and JD at creation time, so you have a clear audit trail.

Next steps

• Explore per-job tailoring in depth
• Read ATS CV tips for 2026
• Learn how gap analysis works

Create a free account and tailor your first application today.