I've been helping people with their CVs on and off for 12 years. With the financial situation as it is, more people are thinking about them. It's a snapshot of a person, and you need to get it right.

I will never put down a direct lie, but it's possible to word something to present it in the best possible light. Sometimes you have to take someone through their job, a job they may not like, step by step, and point out what they don't see: achievements, what they've neglected or forgotten.

People can be confused about where they are in life. It's common to come across people who feel as though they've let themselves down. Three people with the same job might call themselves a manager, a supervisor or a team leader. The team leader might feel she's just a fleck on the corporate ladder, while the manager thinks he's getting ahead in the world. I'm not a psychologist - I keep the conversations oriented towards business - but I help frame a person's experience. It makes them feel better. Happiness is not something you can make them feel at that point. It comes later, when they're confident in their skills.

I consider myself modestly happy, apart from the fact I recently broke up with my girlfriend. And, of course, the financial situation could be better at the moment. Things aren't perfect, but they don't need to be. It's true of CVs as well. Don't present yourself as perfect. Things rarely are.