A recruiter's first read of your CV usually takes less than a minute. In that time they are looking for three things: what you do now, how well you do it, and whether you fit the role in front of them.
Start with a clear summary
Two or three lines at the top: your current role, years of experience, industry and the kind of role you want next. Leave out generic adjectives like "hard-working" or "dynamic".
Show results, not duties
For each role, list three to five achievements with numbers where you can: revenue grown, costs reduced, time saved, team size, project budgets.
- "Reduced month-end close from 8 days to 5" is stronger than "Responsible for month-end close".
- Put the most impressive result first.
- Keep older roles brief.
Make the practical details easy to find
- Current city and willingness to relocate
- Notice period
- Mobile number and a professional email address
- LinkedIn profile, if it is up to date
Two pages is enough for most professionals. Senior leaders can go to three if every line earns its place.
