A recruiter spends between six and ten seconds on your CV before deciding whether to keep reading. That's not an exaggeration. For many roles, hundreds of applications come in and hiring managers screen through them in whatever time they can find — between meetings, on their phone, at 7am before their day starts.
Your CV isn't getting a careful read. It's getting a scan. Structure it for that.
What must be there
Name and contact details. Obvious, but you'd be surprised. Make your name large and clear. Include your email and phone number. If LinkedIn is relevant to your field — and for most professional roles it is — include your profile URL. Many hiring managers check it before they pick up the phone. A blank or incomplete LinkedIn profile is a red flag. A good one is additional evidence.
A professional summary. Two to four sentences at the top of your CV. Not an objective statement ("I am looking for a role where...") — those went out with the fax machine. A summary of who you are professionally and what you bring. Think of it as the answer to "tell me about yourself" in written form. It sets the lens through which the rest of your CV gets read.
Work history. Listed in reverse chronological order. For each role: job title, company, dates, and a concise description of what you actually did and what you were responsible for. Don't just list duties — include what changed or improved because of your work. "Managed social media accounts" is forgettable. "Grew LinkedIn follower count from 2K to 18K in 18 months" is not.
Education. Degree, institution, years attended. If you're early in your career, your education carries more weight. If you have ten years of experience, it moves further down the page.
Achievements and certifications. If you have hard numbers, use them. Revenue driven, costs cut, projects delivered, teams led. If you have relevant certifications or training, include them — especially for technical roles where they signal current knowledge.
What might belong there
Skills. A concise list of relevant technical skills, tools, or languages. Keep it honest and relevant. Don't pad it with things you learned once and would panic to be tested on.
Hobbies and interests. This depends on three things: the job, your personality, and whether it's genuinely relevant or impressive. If you're applying to a creative agency and you run a photography project in your spare time, mention it. If you volunteer, coach a youth sports team, or have a side project that shows initiative — worth including. Watching television and cooking dinner are not CV-worthy interests unless the role specifically calls for a home cook. Sitting on the couch with a beer is true for most of us, but it's not going on the page.
The rule: if it adds something to your candidacy, include it. If it's just filling space, cut it.
What probably shouldn't be there
A photo. In most Western markets, photos on CVs are unnecessary and can introduce unconscious bias into the screening process. Some applicant tracking systems strip them automatically anyway. Unless you're applying for a role where appearance is genuinely part of the job requirement — acting, modelling — leave it off.
Personal details that aren't relevant to the role. Marital status, religion, date of birth, blood type, height — none of this belongs on a professional CV. It overshares without adding value and can expose you to bias you don't want or need. Some candidates still include these (and yes, blood type does appear on real CVs). Don't.
Driver's licence. Unless you're applying for a role that requires driving, this is irrelevant. If the job description asks for it, include it. Otherwise, it's just noise.
The format that gets scanned
Your CV doesn't need to be beautiful. It needs to be readable at a glance. That means:
- Clean formatting with clear section headers
- Consistent font, no smaller than 10pt
- One or two pages maximum for most roles — three only if your experience genuinely requires it
- No dense paragraphs. Use short bullets for work history
And critically: tailor it for each role. Not a complete rewrite, but a focused adjustment. The keywords in the job description should appear in your CV where they honestly can. This isn't gaming the system — it's communicating clearly in the language the role speaks.
If you're not sure how well your CV aligns with a specific job, JobsFast can tell you. It compares your CV against the job description, scores your match, and flags the gaps — so you know exactly what to adjust before you apply.
Build and optimize your CV at jobsfast.io