How to make your CV stand out to employers

Reading time: 4 minutes

Recruiters don't read, they scan

Recruiters don't read your CV the way you wrote it: calmly, from top to bottom. They scan it in an F-shape—a quick sweep along the top, a jump down the left-hand side, and the occasional detour to a bullet point that happens to catch their eye. This happens in a matter of seconds. In that time, it's decided whether your CV gets read further, or quietly ends up on the "maybe later" pile.

Standing out, then, isn't about shouting louder. It's about placing exactly what a recruiter needs in those few seconds to keep reading.

This grabs attention—the right way

A sharp headline, not an empty phrase. "Motivated and passionate professional" says nothing and scores zero points with an ATS system too. Instead, state your job title, seniority and key strength: "Senior Marketer — 8 years' experience in performance marketing and team leadership."

Numbers, right at the top. The first bullets under your most recent role are where the eye lingers longest. Put your strongest, measurable results there—not the most recent task that happened to come to mind first.

Tailoring per vacancy. Using the exact same term from the job posting as in your CV works for both the recruiter and the ATS system that assesses the application first. Copy-pasting and sending the same CV everywhere backfires.

Show that you work with smart software, where relevant. Not as a buzzword, but concretely: "Implemented a tool that cut processing time by 30%" shows more than simply stating you have "knowledge of automation."

Make sure your CV and LinkedIn match. Almost every recruiter checks your LinkedIn before or during the interview. A different job title, year or employer than on your CV is a red flag—even if it's unintentional.

A subtle personal touch, if it suits the role. A link to your portfolio, a QR code, or in creative roles a small personal twist in the layout can work. Keep it professional and relevant to the role—this isn't a free pass for a rainbow font.

This makes you disappear into the pile

Clichés without substance. "Team player", "works well under pressure", "results-driven"—everyone writes it, nobody proves it. Show how you handle pressure ("stayed calm and effective during peak periods with 40+ customer contacts a day") instead of simply claiming it.

One CV for every application. It feels efficient, but it isn't effective. A generic CV scores a little on every vacancy, and well enough on none.

Unexplained gaps of six months or longer. Not every gap is a problem, but leaving it unaddressed is—it lets the recruiter fill in the blanks themselves, and that rarely works in your favour.

An overly creative design. Columns, colour blocks and decorative icons look appealing to a human, but are often unreadable to an ATS system—and therefore a risk that a human never gets to see your CV at all.

Trying to explain everything. Two pages is usually the maximum. The rest of the story you tell in the interview, not on paper.

Do's and don'ts side by side

Do	Don't
Sharp headline with job title and seniority	Vague qualifications like "motivated professional"
Concrete figures at the top of every role	Clichés like "team player" without evidence
CV tailored per vacancy, with the right keywords	Sending one generic CV to everyone
CV and LinkedIn aligned with each other	Conflicting job titles or dates
Clean, well-organised layout	Overly creative design that confuses ATS

Want to know if your CV stands out?

Looking objectively at your own CV is hard—you're too close to it to spot the weak points. With CV-Refresher, you upload your existing CV and receive a sharper, ATS-friendly version in return: a strong headline, results instead of tasks, and a layout that convinces both recruiter and filter.

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In short

• Recruiters scan your CV in seconds—make sure the key information stands out immediately.
• Concrete figures and a sharp headline work better than vague qualifications.
• Tailor your CV per vacancy and keep it aligned with your LinkedIn profile.
• A clean, readable layout almost always beats an overly creative design.