When it comes to understanding what employers look for in a candidate is a/what skills they have;b/are they capable of doing the job/c.in certain jobs you have to read the job description criteria point for point so you can score the right amount of points to be selected for an interview. All this is before you get the interview. If you have to write a personal statement about the type of job you are going for then you must their brief and answer succinctly and accurately and make sure you explain any gaps you may have in career history. Don't put on dates of birth ,nationality , social security numbers and references on CVS. I know all this because I work in the back to work/welfare sector and the amount of people we deal with and know that these are tired and tested methods which do get results and interviews.