The 12 Golden Keys to Creating a CV That Will Instantly Increase your Application to Interview Ratio

The goal of a Curriculum Vitae (CV) is to introduce your candidacy to decision makers, whether they are recruiters, human resource managers, or hiring managers, by summarizing your skill sets and accomplishments in such a way that leads to an interview. In short, the key is: Your CV is a document that is meant to unlock the door to an interview.

Simply stated, a CV is a detailed version of a Resume. A Resume is a short summary of your career, generally limited to a page or two, is usually customized to the job that you are applying to. A CV is an in depth document that generally covers multiple pages comprised of your educational background, job history including job descriptions and key achievements, publications, awards, and any other key skill sets that are important to your industry.

As a professional recruiter, I review CVs all day, every day. I have literally lost count on how many CVs I have reviewed, but would guestimate the number would be somewhere in the tens of thousands. I have submitted thousands of CVs to clients and have gotten a wealth of feedback on what hiring mangers want to see (and what they don’t) which is what I am about to share.

Key 1: Five Seconds and Assumptions

When reviewing a CV, the recruiter/HR/hiring manager can tell whether or not they want to learn more about your background in the first five seconds. It doesn’t take more than a first glance to see whether or not you meet the minimum requirements for a specific job opening and are presenting yourself in a professional way via your CV. The path of your candidacy diverges after those first five seconds. The first path leads to “delete” (and if you are lucky a rejection letter to close the loop). While the second path, leads to further review. Further review may last another 30 seconds up to a couple of minutes. The key: The longer someone is reviewing your CV, the better. The more time they invest, the more likely it will lead to an interview.

Your CV needs to be able to sell yourself in those first five seconds. To accomplish this you must have all of the relevant information that the hiring team is looking for, organized in an easy to read and efficient way, and must present professionally. A CV is a “salesman sample” with the product being YOU. A sloppy CV means that you are probably not detail oriented. A CV that doesn’t discuss your job duties means that you probably don’t do much. These may be unfair assumptions, but the next key (which will pop up over and over again in this article) is: You don’t want to leave the reading assuming anything. Assumptions lead to questions. Questions lead to the “delete” button. You need to tell your audience why you are an expert in your field and why you should be hired over the next applicant. If you don’t, your competition will.

Best Practices: When applying to a position online, whether it be through a company website or a job posting you are literally taking your CV and throwing it into the middle of tens, if not hundreds, of applicants. The reason why there is so little time spent during initial review is because only a fraction of those applicants may meet the minimum requirements and it can be easy to get stuck in the “delete, delete, delete” mentality. A well-crafted CV can snap the reader out of the monotony and stop and stare for a while, a job well done.

One of the biggest advantages of working with a recruiter is the ability to take a GIANT step forward with the submission process because they have already qualified you before the client reviews your CV. This means the hiring team knows that each candidate that is being represented is already more qualified than any of the random applicants that came from the website. A good recruiter will be able to answer any of the hiring manager’s questions with their own custom cover letter. Remember, less questions, less assumptions, leads to more interviews. When you can, let a recruiter make the introduction. You will see your application to interview ratio increase immensely.

Key 2: Remove All Red Flags

As mentioned earlier, you can’t leave any room for interpretation on your resume. Whenever the reviewer has a question, they are more likely to press “delete” and move on. A “Red Flag” is any information, either on the CV or missing from the CV that causes the reviewer to start to have questions about whether or not they want to speak with you. Next key: Remove all red flags from your CV. Following this guide will help in this task and will give you an insider’s look of how hiring managers interpret content and formatting.

Key 3: Keep Your CV Up to Date

No one likes to spend time updating their CV. While there may be thousands of things which are more exciting in life, there are few activities that put the wheel in motion to bettering your life. The easiest way to get started is to dust off your old CV/Resume and take time to refocus on past accomplishments and new duties. If you are starting from scratch the process is still the same, but it is going to take a bit longer as you will be revisiting your entire career history. The key is: You should have an up to date CV on file at all times.

Every industry has its ups and downs. Even if you are not looking for a new job, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t be affected by out of the blue layoffs. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The longer it has been since you last updated your CV, the harder it is going to be to accurately summarize your duties and accomplishments. If you are anything like me, I can hardly remember the last couple of months so how would I be able to accurately and effectively describe the last couple of years?

Key 4: Keep One and Only One CV

The key here is: only keep one CV. You may have different Resumes, but you only keep one CV. You can support your CV with different cover letters, but having multiple CVs with different content is a huge red flag. I have seen people with two different CVs including two completely different career histories. They may have the same employers listed but with completely different duties. It’s like someone saying they spent the last 5 years being an electrician and on the next CV saying that they were a plumber. Which one is it? In reality they may be a general contractor and have worked in both capacities, but if that is the case, they should have added both to the same CV and created a separate cover letter detailing some of the electrical or plumbing projects they accomplished. Splitting them apart means they were trying to misrepresent their skill sets and ultimately misrepresentation leads to diminishing your credibility.

Dirty Little Secret: Most companies will keep your CV on file, at least for a year, if not indefinitely. If they received multiple CVs from you that don’t match with the last copy they have on file, you are putting your reputation in jeopardy and will most likely never be called back for an interview.

Key 5: Contact Information Needs to Be Complete

This is a head scratcher to me…if you don’t put your contact information on your CV, HOW IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO GET A HOLD OF YOU? The key is to: start your CV with your full contact information:

1.      Legal Name- You can also add any certifications after your name that might help you stand out, for example RN (Registered Nurse), JD (Juris Doctor), or CPA (Certified Public Accountant).

2.      Home Address- Full home address is best. A missing address is another red flag. Employers don’t like surprises. Since most positions require someone in a local office, employers who are looking for local candidates will generally check the distance between your home and their office before setting up an initial interview. If you are open to relocation, note it on your CV. Plenty of people move for new jobs and a lot of companies will even help pay for relocation costs. By leaving your address off your CV they have no idea what your story is, and most likely, are not curious enough to ask.

3.      Phone Number(s) - Make sure you leave the easiest way to contact you. If your cell phone is glued to your hip, use your cell.  A home or private office line is usually a solid backup.

4.      Email- Make sure it is an email that you check regularly. Some people will make up an email address just for their job search. This is fine, but don’t forget to check it. If someone reaches out to set up an interview and you don’t respond within 24-48 hours they are going to move onto other candidates.

5.      LinkedIn (Optional) - Linked is a great tool as it adds a professional and human touch to your candidacy. LinkedIn should mimic your CV. Add a “professional” picture to your LinkedIn profile because putting a face to the name makes you more memorable, not just during the review process, but also during the interview process. To this day, I can remember hundreds of faces and corresponding conversations based on visual memory of our conversations.

Key 6: Education Is Not a Question

Education should have its own section with the recommendation of it being directly under your contact information. Include the College Name, Field of Study, Degree obtained, and date of completion. Be sure to add any industry specific certifications as well.

The key of education is: Education is not a question, it is statement based on facts. A degree listed without a date causes another red flag to pop up: Is the degree completed? Education is not a question, so make sure you answer appropriately because not listing a completion date usually means something is being hidden, most likely you never finished your studies.

Some may argue that they have been discriminated against ageism. Although companies say they are EOE compliant, I completely understand that managers may still not give “experienced” candidates the same shot as their greener counterparts. If you feel this is a concern, another option is to simply add “Completed” after your degree.

If you are currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program, feel free to add this on your CV. It shows that you are investing your time and money in bettering yourself. You can put “expected graduation date” or “currently enrolled” to clarify.  The same is true with certifications. They should be listed as: “Currently Enrolled” or “Completed”. If expired, my suggestion would be take it off the CV (having a past-due certification is usually not very helpful in selling your experience).

If you do not have a degree DO NOT MISLEAD ANYONE INTO BELIEVEING THAT YOU DO. If you completed three years of schooling make sure your CV reflects the same. Background checks will pick up misrepresented degrees every time. I have seen many offers rescinded based on candidates misleading employers on their level of education (mainly degrees that were never completed, but are represented as being completed on the CV). Remember, background checks are used to confirm that the information on your CV is correct and truthful.

Key 7: Chronological Order Only

Employment history should always be written in chronological order with your most recent position listed first, working your way back. Your employment history should include:

1.      Position Title- Your title should match company records for background check confirmation.

2.      Employer Name- If you are self-employed use your company name or “Independent Consultant”.

3.      Dates of Employment- Each position should have a start and end date consisting of at least month and year. If you are still employed in your current position the end date should be noted as “Present” (for example: 1/17 – Present). MAKE SURE YOUR DATES ARE CORRECT or an offer may be rescinded. Be consistent with formatting. You can pick your own date format, for example, (January, Jan, or 1 are acceptable for the month. The type of formatting is not important, but consistency is another key we will be covering shortly.

4.      Location: It is recommending to use City and State. If you are a remote employee use the location of the office that you report to or your home city and state with a note that you are a remote employee.

Key 8: Sell Yourself

The place for you to really shine against your competition is in the meat and potatoes of your CV: your job responsibilities and accomplishments. DO NOT, under any circumstances, copy and paste your company’s vanilla job description. This is a not a reflection on what you do and it puts you on par with the bare minimum of what is required in your position. Instead, list the duties and accomplishments that would most impress the hiring manager (and their manager) first and work your way backwards. The key to your responsibilities and achievements is that: You need to be your biggest proponent. No one can sell your experience and achievements better than you.

There will be many duties and tasks that are relevant, and may even be required, which need to be added; however, if all of your competition have the same required skills, you want to focus on what makes you better, stronger, or more experienced. For example, if you are a Java Developer I would expect to see your Java experience on your CV, but guess what, there are plenty of Java Developers out there (there are over 1,100 on Indeed in the Philadelphia area alone as I am writing this) so how are you better than the other 1,099? One of the easiest ways is to talk about some of your key achievements, whether it be hitting an impossible timeline, leadership experience, or a time where you saved the company money due to your effort.  Since the initial review process only takes a few seconds, make sure these accomplishments stick out and are near the top of your responsibilities and duties. Remember, your goal is to stand out above your competition.

Best Practices: If you have multiple positions with similar descriptions, try to focus more on accomplishments in each role rather than having the same list of repetitive job duties. Since the job responsibilities and accomplishments take up the most real estate on your CV, make sure to be clear and concise. CVs can be multiple pages, but they should be able to say everything you want to say in as few words possible. If someone is going to spend 30 seconds reading your CV, what will they pull out? Remember, it needs to pass the five second test first.

Dirty Little Secret: Don’t rely on decision makers to read your CV word for word. A lot of times they skim for key words that they want to see, will take a look at key achievements, and make sure you meet the minimum requirements. For example, if you have 30 publications listed, don’t expect the hiring manager to do anything but glance through them. They may come back and review at a later date. There is a balancing act of making sure all relevant info is included, but you don’t want to bore the reader to sleep. A simple solution: sometimes a separate addendum is appropriate.

Keys 9 and 10: Addressing Short Term and Contract Positions

The best indication of future behavior is past behavior. Multiple short term positions can be a red flag for any employer. It costs a lot of time and money to train someone just to have them leave after 6 months. Stability, on the other hand is a huge plus, but sometimes life doesn’t let us find our dream job right away. There are very good reasons why positions don’t work out that are outside of your control, whether there were promises during the interview that weren’t delivered, restructuring and layoffs, or maybe your new boss is someone that no matter what you do, you won’t get along with. One short term position, not a big deal, stuff happens. Multiple, especially in a row, now there has be an explanation. The key to short term positions is to: Be prepared to talk about the situation and defend your decision to leave. If you were let go because of something completely out of your power, like a layoff, mention in on your CV. If your company moved offices cross country and you can’t uproot your family, no one is going to ask questions as long as they know the situation.

If you worked for a company for a very short period of time (less than a couple of months), you run into a decision to make. You may want to omit the position completely and accept that there will be a gap of employment that you need to explain. Taking some time to find the best fit sounds a lot better than leaving a company after two weeks. That being said, gaps on a CV bring a lot of attention so be prepared to discuss your situation and reasoning. Gaps are red flags so you need to use your best judgement on the situation.

When it comes to contract or temporary positions the key is to: Make sure you classify the position as being a contract. The simplest way is to literally put “(contract)” next to your job title. Contracts, by nature, are shorter term. A successfully completed three month contract assignment looks a lot better than being in a permanent position for only three months. On the flip side, if you like contracting, it shows that you have a lot of experience as a professional contractor, making you more attractive to employers looking to hire consultants.

Best Practices: If you are applying to a company that you have worked for in the past, even for a short duration, be upfront and make sure it is listed on your CV. They will have a record of your employment on file and will call out your bluff. If you choose not to include a past employer on your CV, make sure to be consistent on any job applications/background checks as any discrepancies are grounds to rescind an offer.

Key 11: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

Consistency shows attention to detail, an attribute that every employer has on their wish list. This is the rule that is most often disobeyed: Your CV should have consistent formatting from start to finish. Consistency creates a CV that is easy to read with a natural progression. Changes in formatting can instantly disturb this flow. Font size, font type, spacing, ordering of duties/accomplishments should all be consistent. 

Where do most formatting inconsistencies come from? Most of the time they come about when updating an old CV. Accidentally, people have multiple fonts, different indentation of bullet points (or different shaped bullets), some things are bolded, underlined, or italicized but others in the same category not. For example, bolding your Title, Employer, and Dates of Employment are a great idea (same way the heading of this topic is bolded), as it creates a natural flow. Following the rule, if you are going to bold it once, make you bold throughout. This is similar to formatting dates of employment described above.

Best Practices: When you head in for a face to face interview, it always looks good to bring a copy of your CV for each person you are meeting, one for yourself, and a couple extra in case anyone not on the agenda pops in. Print out your CV and make sure it reads well both electronically and on paper. If page two is a laundry list of bullets, you may want to reformat to break up the monotony.

Key 12: The Rule of Saving Your CV

When you save your CV there are two widely accepted formats: Save your CV as a Word document (.doc) or PDF (.pdf). Some professions prefer one over the other since we are in the digital age where nearly all applications are done online. More and more corporations are using applicant tracking software that automatically decodes your CV and creates an internal profile for you in their system which is used to navigate the interview process. These systems have a hard time reading PDFs and generally don’t parse information over so if I had to pick one, I would stick with saving as a Word document. Furthermore, you may save a lot of time completing the online application as your CV will already be parsed into their system properly.

Best Practices: If you are applying through an agency recruiter and send a PDF due to concerns about someone editing your CV, remember three things:

1.      If you don’t trust your recruiter, don’t work with them. You know your background better than they do and anyone changing your experience is foolish. If they have questions on your experience they should address those concerns with you directly and have you make the necessary changes.

2.      Some agencies work with clients who specifically ask their agencies to add their company logo or contact information to make it easier when setting up interviews. PDFs are unable to be edited.

3.      Word documents allow you to catch spelling and grammar errors. I have caught countless spelling and grammatical errors (even on CVs of professional writers) which are easier to fix via Word.

Ending Thoughts

Finishing Touches

1.      Always run spelling and grammar checks.

2.      After you draft or update your CV, print a copy and review it with a “fresh set of eyes”, meaning, review the next day after you had time to clear your mind from the writing process.

3.      Get a third party (or two) to review your CV. Having someone that knows your industry is always preferred, a hiring manager is even better. Ask them to pretend you are applying to a position within their department and see what questions or suggestions they have.

4.      When you are printing your CV to bring to an interview, make sure to use high quality Resume/CV paper. This will help you stand out and show that you are going the extra mile (a step that only costs a few dollars and can pay back in dividends).

5.      If your CV isn’t leading to interviews, either you are applying to jobs you are not qualified for or you need to rewrite your CV. There is no shame in a little trial and error. Like most things in life, the more time spent planning means the less time it takes to execute.

CV Templates

If you are at a complete loss of how to start writing your CV, do a quick google search and you will find a ton of templates. There is no single “right” way to format your CV, but there are definitely guidelines to follow (like the ones mentioned here) that will help. First step, just write out your name.  You will be surprised how the rest starts to flow.

Next Week’s Topic: The Guide to Epic Fails: Real Life Examples of Jaw Dropping Things Candidates Have Done (laughter and head shaking guaranteed).

For any suggestions on future topics either connect with me on LinkedIn (www.dhirubhai.net/in/alexbenjamin) or email: [email protected]

Tags: Candidates, General, Best Practices, Dirty Little Secrets