The people who write your CV.
Shortlist Lane is a small, human-led CV writing partnership for UK professionals. No content mill, no template factory: just two people who've spent years on the hiring side of the table.
Why we started Shortlist Lane
We kept seeing the same thing: strong, capable people getting filtered out before a human ever read their CV. Not because they weren't good enough, but because their CV was cluttered, generic, or written in language that didn't match the role. Meanwhile a lot of the "CV industry" leaned on templates, keyword-stuffing tricks and promises no honest service can keep.
We wanted to do the opposite: read every CV as a person, write it properly, keep it ATS-safe without gimmicks, and be straight with people about what will and won't help. That's the whole idea.
Two people, two perspectives
Every CV passes through both of us: one who knows what makes a decision-maker stop reading, and one who can turn real experience into clear, credible writing.
Jack
Years spent reviewing CVs through large-scale hiring and workforce change. Knows what makes a recruiter move on, and what makes them keep reading.
Laura
A Head of Department with an English Literature background. Turns real experience into clear, credible, genuinely human writing.
What we believe
Human-led, always
A person writes and checks every CV. AI helps us work faster on analysis and drafting; it never writes your CV for you, and we never invent facts, dates or achievements.
ATS-safe without the gimmicks
Clean, single-column, standard-heading formatting that common systems parse reliably. No "beat the bot" tricks: just structure that works.
The work is yours to keep
You get editable Word files you own and can retarget yourself for future applications, not a locked PDF and not an ongoing fee.
Honest over impressive
If we don't think we can meaningfully improve your CV, we'll tell you. The free review is a genuine read, not a sales pitch.
We're new, and we won't pretend otherwise
Shortlist Lane launched this year. We haven't got a wall of five-star reviews yet, and we're not going to invent any; plenty in this industry do. What we do have is two people who've spent years on the hiring side, and a free review that shows you exactly what our work is like before you spend a penny. Send us your CV and judge us on what comes back. That's what it's for.
Want to see the kind of work you'll get first? Have a look at a sample of our before-and-after work, or read more about what to expect from a professional CV writer.
Start with a free CV review
A person reads your CV, not a scanner. Honest feedback within two working days, no obligation.
Get your free CV review