A CV can quickly become outdated. Often it is a document that is brought out, dusted off and new employment details added, almost in a running commentary fashion. Your CV needs to be much more than that.
A professional recruiter can scrutinise a CV in 10 to 40 seconds (currently 20 seconds is normal) and in that time they will decide whether you are someone they can assist or not. An employer who is recruiting directly may take slightly longer but still a very short time.
The recruiter/employer is looking for the following points:
- What the person does
- What competencies and skills the person has
- How much experience the person has
- Number of job/career changes
- Continuity of employment
- Qualifications
They will ask themselves whether that person matches their requirements and how closely. If not, then they will immediately reject the person. Only if they find that the applicant has the required skills and competencies will the recruiter examine the detail of their experience in closer detail. The recruiter will be considering how will they sell that applicant to the client i.e. what makes them stand out from other similarly qualified candidates? This is the same thing an employer will be looking for and it will distinguish a suitably qualified candidate from a desirable potential employee. This is the value this person adds to an organisation either by way of enhanced revenue or cost saving. The professional recruiter and experienced employers know precisely what they are looking for and this considerably reduces the time they have to spend analysing CVs.
