The first decision recruiters make when they open your CV
And why a strong profile can still get overlooked
Most people think recruiters read CVs carefully line by line.
Like a professor grading a final exam at university, but that’s not really how it works.
Most of the time, someone opens your CV and is trying to answer a few questions very quickly.
What role does this person want? Have they done something similar before? And can I picture them doing this job?
If those answers appear quickly, your CV immediately becomes easier to move forward.
That’s what you want. You want to make it easy for someone to put you in that first batch of candidates who get moved to the initial screen.
Because hiring moves fast and that first batch usually has the highest chances.
So I wouldn’t just try to make my CV look impressive or squeeze in every task and every job I’ve had over the last couple of years.
I’d focus on making it easier to understand and easier to scan.
If you’re job searching right now, this part will help.
No clear summary section at the top
One thing I notice when reading the CVs you send me is that many jump straight into experience or education.
Which is useful, by the way.
But sometimes there isn’t a simple section at the top that explaining what role you’re actually targeting or what your next step is.
So the recruiter has to start reading the whole CV just to figure that out.
And again remember, hiring often moves quickly.
Most of the time someone opens your CV and scans the first part trying to understand:
Is this role a fit for this person?
A short section at the top can help a lot here.
For example:
“Finance graduate with internship experience in trading and financial markets, now looking for junior analyst roles”.
It doesn’t need to be long.
It just needs to show what you’re aiming for.
✦ ✧ ✦
Trying to show everything you’ve ever done
When you send me your CVs, I keep seeing the same pattern.
Trying to show the full picture, including every project, every task and every single responsibility.
Which makes sense. You’ve worked hard and you want it to count.
However… too many details can make things harder to follow.
Marketing experience, operations work, some analytics, maybe a bit of project coordination.
All valid, but it can also make the recruiter pause and wonder:
What role is this person actually targeting? Why did they apply to this specific role?
And once someone has to start figuring that out themselves, your chances are already a bit slimmer.
Your CV doesn’t need to explain everything you’ve ever done.
It just needs to make the next step you’re applying for obvious.
✦ ✧ ✦
The long skills section
Another thing I see quite often is very long skills sections.
Think like ten tools, fifteen skills, sometimes even more.
Excel, PowerPoint, communication, teamwork, leadership, time management…
Again, none of these are wrong.
But, when everything appears on the list, it becomes harder to see what actually matters for the role you’re applying to.
(And let’s be honest… who doesn’t really know how to use PowerPoint or Word in 2026?!)
Most recruiters are not trying to understand everything you can possibly do.
They’re quickly looking for one thing:
Do the key skills for this role show up clearly on the page?
If you’re applying for a software engineer role, things like programming languages should stand out.
If you’re applying for an analyst role, skills around data or Excel should be easy to spot.
The goal isn’t to show every skill you’ve ever used.
It’s to make the relevant ones obvious.
✦ ✧ ✦
Quick CV check
Honestly? I could probably go on and on with CV advice.
There are many small things that can be improved, adjusted or written a bit differently.
Most of the time the problem isn’t qualifications.
It’s just that the experience is harder to understand than it needs to be.
So here’s a quick check you can do right now:
Open your CV and look at the top half of the page.
Ask yourself:
• Is it obvious what role I’m aiming for?
• Would someone quickly understand what I actually did in my last role?
• Are the key skills for the job easy to spot?
If the answers are clear, you’re already in a strong place.
If not, a few small edits are usually enough to make the whole profile easier to read.
And easier to move forward.
Big sister note
Before I sat on the recruitment side, I genuinely thought CVs were mostly about proving you’re qualified.
And yes… qualifications matter.
However, most of the time recruiters and hiring managers are already placing you somewhere in their head.
There’s the : yes, this looks relevant, let’s reach out.
Then the: interesting, let’s keep them in the process.
Or sometimes: not quite the fit for this role.
So if you’re currently staring at your CV wondering where you fall in that list… don’t panic.
You probably don’t need to reinvent every section. Just a few small edits are enough to move your CV into the “let’s reach out” pile.
If you need a second pair of eyes on your CV, subscribers can always send it over. I’m always happy to help. ✨