Recruiting Guide

How Recruiters Actually Screen CVs

Stop guessing and discover what happens in those critical 6 seconds of review.

You've read that recruiters spend just seconds reviewing CVs. It's true, but not useful on its own. To truly understand how to optimize your CV, you need to look deeper into the actual process.

For context, I've worked as a recruiter at Google and help software engineers stand out. I often see candidates not understanding how their CV will be reviewed, which leads them to make fatal mistakes.

So let me lift the curtain and take you through the process, through the eyes of a Recruiter.

Selection Process Overview

1. Initial Screening

  • Goal: Filter relevant CVs
  • Who: Recruiter
  • Time: 5–20 seconds

2. Shortlisting

  • Goal: Select the best ones
  • Who: Recruiter + Hiring Manager
  • Time: 1–5 minutes

3. Interview Prep

  • Goal: Prepare questions
  • Who: Hiring Manager
  • Time: 5–10 minutes
The bottleneck: Most rejections happen in step 1 (Initial Screening). However, most CVs are not optimized for those critical 5-20 seconds.

Through the Eyes of a Recruiter

The truth is that recruiters don't usually like that part of their job. They have other more exciting responsibilities. That's why they want to finish as soon as possible.

"The easier it is to scan your CV, the better your outcome."

Recruiters scan, they don't read

They do the same thing you do when you visit a website: they quickly scan looking for key information. Here are 3 ways to make their life easier:

Avoid extravagant designs

If the recruiter has to guess where the information is, you're out. Don't waste time reinventing the wheel.

Use predictable headings

Their eyes are trained to look for 'Experience', 'Education', etc. Use conventions to your advantage.

Readable font

Don't use microscopic font to fit everything on one page. Let the content breathe.

What exactly are they looking for? (The Checklist)

Before reviewing any CV, recruiters define a list of requirements. You can think of this as a mental checklist. Your goal is to check those boxes as quickly as possible.

Case Study: TimeNest (SaaS)

Imagine a job opening for a Front-End Developer at a SaaS startup.

Core Technical Skills

Mastery of React (reusable components).

Secondary Skills

Form libraries (Formik), Analytics, modern CSS.

Collaboration

Working with UX/UI (Figma) and Backend (REST APIs).

Optimize These 3 Key Sections

1

CV Title

It's the first thing they read. It should confirm that you're in the right queue. You can adapt it to the position (it doesn't have to be your official title).

Optimized Example

Front-End Software Developer | React Specialist

2

Profile Summary

It's your "elevator pitch". Use it to check the boxes on the checklist before they read the rest.

Junior Front-End Developer with hands-on experience building responsive interfaces... Strong focus on the React ecosystem, including React Hook Form and Redux. Enthusiastic collaborator with UI/UX designers to translate Figma prototypes into code...

3

Most Recent Experience

Your "main product". If the scan is quick, they'll only read the first bullet point. Make it count.

The Perfect Introductory Bullet Point

"Led product vision by designing intuitive user experiences for a multi-step account configuration interface on a B2B platform, addressing complex form logic and responsiveness while building accessible component-based UIs within the React ecosystem."

The Recommended Order

To maximize your chances, structure your CV this way on the first page:

  1. 1Personal Information + CV Title
  2. 2Profile Summary
  3. 3Technical Skills
  4. 4Work Experience (Most recent first)

* If you're Senior, move Education to the end. If you're Junior, keep it visible.

Ready to pass the filter?

Now that you know the rules of the game, it's time to apply them.