When you want to take on a new member of staff, you need to know what to look for on a candidate’s CV
Each company has different criteria when it comes to recruiting employees, and this can range between positions too. However, when it comes to sifting through lots of CV’s, there are a few crucial points you need to take into consideration to separate those worth considering to those that aren’t so suitable. Here’s what to look for on a candidate’s CV…
Experience
This is a crucial part of the recruitment process. What you’re looking for is specific achievements – how much they increased sales by, for example. Percentages and numbers are a good sign, and a concrete marker from which you can assess performance if they’re successful.
Tailoring
Has the candidate taken the time and effort to make sure the CV highlights skills and qualities that are pertinent to the position advertised? If they have, it shows that they’ve read the job description and done their best to tailor their application to show off how well suited they are to the role. It can tell you a lot about their attention to detail.
Job History
Look closely at job history and the dates given. If they’ve not given any, it may be a good idea to ask. This will flag up any regular employment changes, or long gaps between jobs, which you can then establish a reason for at interview.
Padding
Keep an eye out for the candidate repeating themselves throughout the CV, or making each point unnecessarily wordy or rambling, as this could be trying to mask a weakness in experience or talent. An emphasis on duties rather than skills is also something to be on the lookout for.
Overall
The layout, text size, spelling and grammar is something that should all be excellent on a candidate’s cv, and it can demonstrate their care and attention over something that should matter to them, and to you. Their job history should be in chronological order too.
