7 Things Recruiters Look At On Your CV
The things recruiters look at on your CV have changed as digital applications and Applicant Tracking Systems became standard. In fact, a senior brief can still draw more than 200 applications. A recruiter cannot read every line. Therefore they search, scan, then shortlist.
Recruiters do not spend their first pass hunting for reasons to reject you. Instead they look for a reason to keep you in. If page one does not show the role, skills and proof they need, they move on.
This guide covers the things recruiters look at on your CV after that first glance. It also shows how to put those details where they are easy to find.
Get The Recruiter’s Attention On Page One
Treat page one as the taster. Most screening decisions start there. So give enough fact and proof to earn a slower read.
What To Put On Page One Of Your CV
Put these details on page one:
- Full name
- Mobile number and an email address that works as a live link
- Residential area
- Citizenship or residence status
- Highest qualification, with the institution and the year you attained it
- Strongest professional qualification, with the certifying body and the year
- A short personal profile
How To Write A Personal Profile Recruiters Will Read
The personal profile should be a tight set of facts. In particular, cover four points.
The work you are strongest in.
I am a General Manager with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA. In addition, I have 15 years in automotive component manufacturing, including high volume CNC production, sales and contract pricing, contract administration, and financial and people management.
The work you enjoy most.
I work across the business. However, I most enjoy contract pricing, contract terms, and practical solutions to design and production problems.
The work you do well.
Clear writing and sharp reading of detail help me close pricing and contract terms.
The values that shape how you work.
Respect, honesty, openness and trust guide how I lead a team and a business.
Keep this short. It is not a full page. Instead it should show what you offer now, not a long story from eight years ago.
Do not open with the job title and company you want. Recruiters fill roles for clients. As a result they do not start from your wish list and then hunt for a vacancy that matches it.
If you have little paid experience, use a skills based CV rather than forcing a thin work history. For that format, see our guide to writing a CV with no experience. Likewise, read our advice if you feel inexperienced and do not know where to start.
The 7 Things Recruiters Look At On Your CV
Once your CV is in the closer review pile, these are the things recruiters look at on your CV in more detail.
1. Orderly Layout And Career Flow
Recruiters want a CV that is easy to follow. Dates should make sense. Career steps should also read in a clear order. Always start with your current or most recent role and work backwards.
Give more depth to the last five years. For older roles, company name, dates and job title are often enough.
A tidy layout also signals care. If the document is hard to scan, the content has to work much harder. For a fuller checklist, read our recruiter tips for preparing a CV that stands out.
2. Short Employment Periods And Gaps
A strong fit can still earn a conversation when the CV shows gaps or short stays. Even so, you will need a clear, honest reason for each one.
Repeated roles of less than two years often raise a flag. Contract work, restructuring, a move city, study, or a business that closed can all be fair reasons. Vague answers, however, are not.
Recruiters also read the pattern. Therefore a move that adds scope looks different from a string of sideways jumps. For more on how tenure is read, see what your employment history says about you.
3. Spelling And Grammar
This still matters. Spelling errors and clumsy language give a poor first impression. After all, your CV is often the first sample of how you communicate.
Ask someone you trust to proofread it. Then read it aloud. Finally, check company names, job titles and dates twice.
The same problems sit on our list of common CV mistakes to avoid.
4. Length And Useful Detail
Few recruiters will work through an eight page CV. For most candidates in South Africa, two to three pages is enough. Senior professionals with a long career can go a little further. Even then, four pages should be the ceiling.
Recent work deserves more space than work from six or more years ago. Still include every employer, title and date. Older roles can be brief. For the last five to eight years, add a short note on the type of company if that context helps.
Do not hide early career steps because the history runs past 15 years. Recruiters may still want the names, titles and dates.
5. Schools, Institutions And Employers
Recruiters notice where you studied and where you worked. Well known schools, universities and employers can help. They do not, however, rescue a weak CV.
Steady progress matters more than brand names. In other words, a clear rise in scope, team size or accountability reads well even if the company is not a household name.
6. Keywords That ATS Software Can Find
Agency databases are large. Portal databases are larger still. Because of this, Applicant Tracking Systems let a recruiter search for the skills, tools, methods and sectors in the brief.
Keywords change by industry and role. So use the language of the work you actually do.
- An IT project manager might name the enterprise systems used and the business sectors served.
- A design engineer might name project types and the CAD tools used.
- A marketing manager might name digital strategy work and the platforms used.
- A chemical engineer might name plant type, process and compliance systems.
A few precise terms can pull your CV into a longlist. Empty buzzwords, by contrast, will not. Write the skills you use in your current work so the search can find you. For how agencies use this software, read AI, automation and ATS in hiring.
Use a simple file format. Fancy columns and text boxes can break in an ATS parse. Therefore keep headings plain.
7. Potential And Initiative
Few people now stay in one job for an entire working life. Tenure also varies by age, sector and seniority. In South Africa, average stays are often measured in a few years rather than a decade.
A move can show growth. For example, a better brief, a larger team or a wider budget is a story you should be able to tell with pride. On the other hand, a move that only changes the pay and not the responsibility can look opportunistic.
Recruiters look for people who are building a career, not only collecting titles. So show the step up in each recent role.
Claims on a CV should also survive later checks. Employers often verify qualifications, dates and references through pre employment screening.
Make Your CV Easy To Screen In
The things recruiters look at on your CV are consistent. First, page one must work. Next, the story must be easy to follow. In addition, the keywords must match the work. The dates must be honest. Finally, the latest roles must show growth.
Once the document is tight, upload it through our CV submission process so it sits in the Key Recruitment database. After that, a recruiter can match you to briefs that fit your skills.
Once the document is tight, upload it through our CV submission process so it sits in the Key Recruitment database. After that, a recruiter can match you to briefs that fit your skills.
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