CV Tips What Recruiters Really Want

CV Tips What Recruiters Really Want When pursuing a dream job, your CV will need to impress recruiters and show them that you are a  strong suitable candidate.  But what exactly do recruiters want to see in a CV and how do they need the information presented? StandOut CV has put together an infographic to show how recruiters really  assess your  CV, and the challenges they face in securing the best talent.  Once you know what their lens looks like,  you can adapt your CV accordingly to give them  what they need, and land more job interviews. The first hurdle! Firstly, you must persuade recruiters to open your CV.  Even the best CV in the world is useless if it sits unopened in a recruiter’s inbox.  To ensure that recruiters open your CV in the first place, you must include a powerful cover note to  tempt them in.  Keep your cover note short and sharp to save the reader time and provide a summary of how your  skills and experience match the job advert requirements.  Remember to address the recruiter by name and write in a friendly tone to create a good impression  and start to build a rapport with them. Recruiters scan your CV for relevant content Once a recruiter has opened your CV, the first thing they will do, is spend an initial 6-10 seconds  scanning the CV for the essential skills and knowledge.  This is initial scan is just to ensure that your CV has enough of the role’s candidate requirements,  before they invest the time read your CV in full.  If your CV doesn’t pass this quick scan, then it’s likely that the recruiter will close your CV down and  move on to the next one.  To ensure that your CV makes an instant impact when opened, make it easy to read and highlight  the skills that are relevant to your target roles.  Use a clear simple font, break text up, structure the pages well and make your relevant talents  prominent. Recruiters focus on your current role Your current or most recent role is by far the biggest indicator of what you are capable of at this  stage of your career; so recruiters will spend a lot of time studying this section of your CV.  They want to know things like: Your position within the organisation Overall goal of your role People you interact with (managers, suppliers, customers etc.) Tools/software used (IT packages, machinery, hardware etc.) Work produced (reports, websites, physical products etc.) Targets and achievements Write about your current role in great detail to give recruiters lots of information and show exactly  what you have contributed to your employer. Older roles can be shortened down and summarised  to save space on your CV. Recruiters look for numbers Facts and figures are excellent indicators of value for recruiters because they give an idea of the  scale of impact you have created.  So recruiters love to see numbers on your CV that quantify the results you have achieved for  yourself, employers and clients.  When writing your CV, try to add some measurable achievements such as: Generated 150 unit sales in 3 months Resolved 95% of complaints in 24 hours Cut department spending by 15% Recruiters scare easily Recruiters work hard to maintain good relationships with hiring managers and providing bad  candidates can seriously damage those relationships.  For this reason, recruiters are very careful about which CVs they recommend for positions.  Things like gaps in employment and sloppy formatting can be enough to worry recruiters into leaving  out of the shortlist.  Don’t give recruiters any chance to doubt you; ensure that your CV looks professional and has no  deal-breaking mistakes. Image: Shutterstock