According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), unemployment rose by 49,000 to 2.5 million people in the three months to the end of November 2010.

The job market today is tough and highly competitive, and jobseekers at all levels - especially senior level executives must not underestimate the importance of having an articulate, achievement -focussed and professionally presented Curriculum Vitae.

As the Partner of a successful executive level recruitment and professional CV writing firm for 15 years, I have found that a strong resume is the key to beating the competition and securing the job that you want.

There are many benefits to having your CV professionally written and the most important are;

Firstly your CV will be visually professional and high-impact and this will appeal to the reader, catch their attention and increase your chances of being selected for interview from an increasingly large sea of other job applicants.

Secondly, your CV will contain pertinent key words so that your details can be found potential employers or consultants either by searching on the internet (if you have applied online) or from within a database system if you have registered your details with an executive search firm, employer or employment agency.

Finally your CV will be a bespoke document, designed specifically to act as a marketing tool and shop window. It will display your qualifications, training, skills, personal attributes and key achievements in a succinct way which is easy to read at first glance. A professional CV, well written will catch the attention of the reader quickly and open the door to further questioning.

From managing numerous executive level recruitment campaigns, I have found that the covering letter which accompanies your Curriculum Vitae is equally just as important. In my experience, recruitment consultants and employers alike want to see evidence that you have researched the role and the organisation; that your skills and experience match the brief and that you are aware of the developments, challenges and potential opportunities that the company has at the current time and in the future.

Some useful tips for impressing a prospective employer in the covering letter include:

Matching your key skills and experience to the role profile or advertisement by way of giving a few examples; demonstrating that you are interested in the organisation by reviewing corporate brochures, press releases and annual reports (usually available on the company website) and commenting on anything you found interesting; researching the competition and the marketplace and offering a short summary of how you feel that you can add value to the business.

All this should be kept to a maximum of two pages in order to retain the attention of the reader.

My best advice is to never be complacent when applying for a new job opportunity. If you do, then you are in serious danger of losing the role you are hoping to secure to someone who has a better CV and covering letter than you.

Tracey Thomas, Partner and ‘head hunter’ Grieves Pryce Executive Resourcing and GPCVServices.