What are the most crucial elements in a CV?

Recruiters analyze hundreds of CVs and candidate profiles daily (e.g., on LinkedIn). Typically, a recruiter manages several projects at once, and their bonus, a significant part of their salary, depends on the number of hires made. Recruitment firms also offer a several-month guarantee for the candidate they propose. In practice, this means if the candidate is dismissed or resigns during the guarantee period, the recruiter is obliged to find a new candidate without an additional fee. To succeed in their job, recruiters must act quickly and efficiently. When reading CVs, they focus on the most critical issues – the competencies sought by the client, ignoring the rest. The candidate's goal should be to highlight in the document those elements specified in the job description. What does a recruiter pay special attention to when reading a CV?

In 2012, the American job portal "The Ladders" conducted a so-called "eye tracking" study on 30 recruiters over 10 weeks. The study analyzed the following issues:

• which parts of the CV and online profile the recruiter focuses on and how quickly they move their gaze from one section to another, which parts of the profile and CV were skipped (not read), and which elements particularly drew their attention during the review.

The study also estimated that recruiters spend 6 seconds on the initial review of a CV (in these 6 seconds, they decide whether to examine the document more thoroughly).

The study found that:

• recruiters spend 80% of their time on the following information: name and surname, current position/company, start and possibly end date of the last job, previous position and company, education.

• the remaining time is spent getting acquainted with specific competencies or keywords related to the position (mentioned in the job description), which they seek in a candidate

The authors of the study recommend paying attention to the following when writing a CV:

• the document should be well-organized, and individual sections easy to read and find (contradicting the popular yet unfounded claim that a CV must stand out).

• information should be synthesized – short and specific (avoid using embellishments such as "motivated, well-organized, effective")

• employment history should start with the currently (or most recently) held position

• a photo in the CV is unnecessary as it distracts rather than forms the basis for evaluating a candidate

The analysis of the study proved that recruiters value professionally prepared CVs 60% better than those not following standards. Therefore, it's worth consulting a career advisor/career coach to ensure your document is created according to current trends. A poorly constructed CV makes it difficult to decide whether a candidate meets the client's expectations.

For a CV tailored to a specific job offer, remember:

        Communicate in the employer's language. Carefully analyze the job description – use "keywords" mentioned in it. This shows you have the skills the potential employer is looking for. If your CV does not correspond with the job description, your chances of being invited for a recruitment interview can be very low.

       Remove unnecessary information (e.g., detailed descriptions of duties from 10 years ago not related to the job description).

        Communicate precisely – limit the CV to 2 pages. Do not add the title "curriculum vitae," do not include detailed information about your age, home address, marital status. Just include your name and surname, email address (private), phone number (private), possibly the city you live in (if you are open to relocation, mention it), and a link to your LinkedIn profile. These details can easily fit in the header, saving space in the document.

          Prepare a short but substantial professional profile. It's worth including information such as your industry tenure, sector, position, or experience in areas mentioned in the job description, major professional achievements, important certifications/licenses if they are sought after for the position. The profile is really meant to encourage the reader to analyze our CV further. It's best written in 4-5 bullet points. Include key competencies right after the profile or just below it, tailored to the potential employer's expectations.

          Describe your professional experience starting with your current position. Do not forget about the dates – month and year. It's valuable to include: the reporting line, key goals, main duties, scope of tasks (local, regional, global). I also encourage adding a link to the company/institution's website where you work and a short one-sentence description (industry, scope of activities). Describe the last two positions or the last 10 years of work in more detail, only signal previous positions. Limit to dates, companies, and job titles.

       In the last section, describe your education. The principle is the same as when describing experience. Start with the highest academic degree or the most recently completed postgraduate studies. Add courses/training. Focus on those that may be interesting from the perspective of the position you are applying for. Add information about the level of foreign language proficiency.

          Do not forget the clause: "I consent to the processing of my personal data for the purposes necessary for the realization of the recruitment process in accordance with the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (GDPR)."

*Competencies are personal dispositions in the realm of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. They manifest in behaviors and allow for the execution of tasks at an appropriate level. Competencies can be divided into professional (hard skills) and social (soft skills). In a CV, it is recommended to focus mainly on professional competencies, as these are most often the keywords that recruiters pay attention to. For example, if someone is looking for a project manager, the key competency would be "project management." It is recommended to include this competency in the CV more than, for example, people management, which is essential to project management but not its basis.