What are recruiters looking for in a CV?

By Nick Hurley

What are recruiters looking for in a CV?

The quick answer – it varies considerably from recruiter to recruiter.

Some recruiters like detail, some like brevity, some like a functional layout, most like a reverse chronology and some even like fancy graphic design.

The most important facet of working with a recruiter is to be open and willing to adjust the CV as that recruiter sees fit.

Before attempting to engage with a recruiter it’s important to gain an appreciation of the type of talent they are looking for and to appreciate how they make money. Don’t forget, recruiters aren’t there to serve you as the candidate, they are there to fill a role for their client – the hiring company.

That being said, because they benefit if you get hired, they will work for you to an extent.

Recruiters ideally want to work with the hottest commodities – candidates who are currently employed; have salary expectations in the range of the role being filled; have precisely the right matching skillset; ideally niche or hotly sought-after skills; have a clear and distinct career trajectory; and who have been gradually but steadily rising up through the ranks in their profession/skillset. The icing on the cake is a candidate who is being actively sought by multiple companies – let’s start a bidding war!

What they typically aren’t as keen on: people switching careers; people with big gaps in their employment; those who have been demoted; those without permanent residency in Australia; people who do not live in Australia or who haven’t for a very long time; people with broad nebulous skills and experience that is difficult to classify; and people with grandiose sounding job titles and degrees that place them well above the role needing to be filled.

If you’re in this group, then maybe a recruiter isn’t for you.

How do I get a recruiter to even notice my CV for consideration?

Our empirical research has shown that recruiters spend on average just nine seconds initially reading your CV. You therefore must get your initial message across clearly, succinctly and consistently.

The questions they will be asking themselves:

Can I see the keywords I am looking for (eg SQL DBA)? Is there a career progression? Does the person have increasing levels of responsibility? Do the titles make sense? Do the responsibilities and accomplishments listed match what I’m looking for? Does the talent have an online presence? Can I find their LinkedIn profile?

The CV you send a recruiter needs to stand out, be punchy and to an impeccable standard. It can have lots of pertinent detail however that can be left to the following pages. They need to decide if they like you from the first page, only then will they want to subsequently read through the details of your accomplishments in more detail in the latter pages.

Here at Executive Agents we actively work with you to identify your unique selling proposition, your value-add and piece together a consistent and clear career story. We condense it down into a CV that will proudly become your principal piece of personal marketing collateral.

Schedule a call with our dedicated team today.

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Perfect for people who want an impeccable CV, LinkedIn profile, and covering letters for powerful job applications.