10 Things Every Recruiter Should Check for on a Candidates CV

10 Things Every Recruiter Should Check for on a Candidates CV As a recruiter you want to give the candidate you are representing the best opportunity to stand out from the crowd and their CV is the first opportunity they have to sell themselves. Ensure  that the CV which you send to your client is clear, concise and highlights the relevant experience effectively. Follow these easy steps to ensure that they have that punch on the nose CV which really  gets them noticed! 1. Candidate frontsheet I would recommend having a unified candidate front sheet template. The kind of things this should include on it are: name, location, relevant experience, notice period, education and other relevant notes.  Most importantly, ensure that you talk to your candidate about the role and ask them what similar things they have done. From this you will be able to tailor the relevant experience section so it is specific to their application (theres nothing worse than a regurgitation of a candidates key skills, it will only make you look sloppy)! 2. Personal statement A strong CV should include a short (ideally between 30 â€" 60 words) personal statement which they have clearly crafted themselves. Make sure that they have outlined their abilities, achievements and career motivations and that they havent just used a standard template which includes a bunch of soft skills (everyone can claim to have these, get them to concentrate on what is truly makes them unique). 3. Always start the work history with the most recent role The  most recent role is going to be the most interesting experience for any potential employer (its unlikely that the candidates  part time work experience around their  college studies 10 years ago is going to be  of any interest) so make sure that this part of the candidates CV is the most in depth. Candidates should always explain how they have added value in the roles they have held, not just what they were responsible for doing and list personal achievements. Make sure that they describe the feature, the advantage of it and link back the benefit. For example (I used C++ instead of C to code, which  supported the design for object-oriented programming and meant we could develop the product faster, and also made the  program run faster). 4. Keywords Does the person have the specific experience for the role the client is hiring for? By this, I dont mean that they have included every keyword on their  resume, be vigilant to ensure that the important keywords contained in the main body of their experience are represented in the  work history. Failure to address this might look like the candidate has just copied and pasted the key words in the job specification but has no real experience in this area. 5. Gaps Make certain that if there are any gaps in a candidates experience that theres a sufficient explanation. Its the absence of an explanation that sometimes will make an employer wonder and jump to negative conclusions. Make sure that the candidate also includes any side projects/courses which they undertook during this gap of employment. It will help to prove that they are proactive and werent just sat at home twiddling their thumbs! It can also be a great way to show that they have a genuine interest in the industry if they have been working on industry related projects. 6. Too much info   Make sure you speak to your candidate about any potential TMI  (too much information) moments.  Many employers try  to avoid any type of discrimination, so often seeing that stuff on a resume can be uncomfortable and by that stuff, I mean, Im glad a candidate is happily married with two children  (really I am) but it doesnt  pertain to their ability to do the job! Please also make sure they take their photo off their  resume. If the employer wants to see what the candidate looks like they can just stalk them  on LinkedIn! 7. Online footprint Whilst this isnt essential, if a candidate has an online footprint, make sure that theyve included it in their  resume, (especially if its relevant to their industry). This includes personal domains, Quora profiles, Twitter handles, GitHub contributions, Dribble accounts, or anything a candidate has chosen to list. A good, relevant side project or creative account can help a candidate stand out and it shows that they  have passion for the  industry. 8. Location and logistics Include the travel time for the candidate here (especially if they are local), it shows that both you and the candidate have considered this (theres also nothing worse than a candidate calling the day before their due to attend an interview and pulling out because they didnt realise it was a tricky route). If the candidate lives further away and is looking at relocating make sure that you specify this and any further relevant details (for example, if the candidate is relocating to the area because of their partner or family ties), this will make more sense for the employer. 9. Grammar Bad spelling and grammar is sloppy and easy to avoid, its a recruiters job to check for these mistakes and to ensure that they have clearly presented their experience. Make sure that the candidate has picked a voice,  a tense, and that theyve stuck with it. I suggest third person and past tense. If I were you, Id make sure they eliminate pronouns (e.g. My, I, She, He) from their resume altogether. 10. Length Theres nothing worse than seeing a CV which, at first glance looks like it could be interesting, turning the page and realising that theyve sent you their full autobiography, it  means that you and no doubt the employer will completely lose emphasis (and concentration) when it comes to reading relevant experience. Any more than 3 pages and I usually completely disengage with the content.  A common mistake is that candidate will use the same CV and just add their newer roles at the top, make sure you speak to them about condensing job roles  further back in their career. Final thoughts Most of these points are a matter of common sense but they require  being vigilant every time you send out a candidates CV. Sometimes (and Im sure weve all been there), recruiters are so keen to get the CV out the door that proper consideration isnt given over making them stand out, an extra half an hour speaking to and consulting (yes recruitment CONSULTANTS) will really make the difference. You will look professional to your client and also gain credibility with a candidate who believes you are genuinely trying your best to give them the best opportunity at getting the job!