What Recruiters Look For on a CV

Robert Half's latest European survey shows what makes a CV stand out. Work experience, photos, skills, personal information...everything is examined.

A CV is crucial for getting hired. It must grab the attention of companies or recruiters. But what do recruiters look at first?

The survey was conducted by Robert Half in April and May 2011. 2,187 people (HR, finance, or managers) in charge of recruitment in 9 countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Switzerland) participated. The sample was representative of businesses.

After consulting European managers, Robert Half created a ranking...no surprises! In France, work experience is checked first, then professional qualifications and technical skills.
"It seems that recruiters in France and Europe are quite sensitive to non-discrimination. Very few prioritize a candidate's photo and personal information, which should not be considered in the hiring process. This is very good news! However, we need regular reminders of non-discriminatory recruitment principles to make it automatic and overcome the constraints," observes Olivier Gélis, CEO of Robert Half International France.
What do company recruiters look at first on a CV?

1. France

Recruiters look at:

• Work experience (42%);
• Professional qualifications (21%);
• Technical skills (14%).
• Also: 6% check personal information (age, family status, address, hobbies, etc.) and 3% look at the photo first.

2. Germany

Recruiters look at first:

• Professional qualifications and technical skills (25%);
• Then work experience (23%).

8% of German recruiters look at the candidate's photo and personal information.

3. Austria

Recruiters look at first:

• Professional qualifications (32%);
• Work experience (18%);
• Technical skills (17%).

11% (the highest in the survey!) look at personal information first, and 8% at the photo.
3% (the highest in this survey!) check the candidate's social media profile.

4. Belgium

Recruiters look at first:

• Work experience (46%);
• Professional qualifications and education (14%).

6% check personal information and 2% look at the photo.

4. Italy

Recruiters look at first:

• Work experience (38%);
• Professional qualifications (21%);
• Technical skills (15%).

Also in Italy: 8% look at education first, 7% at personal information, and only 1% at the photo.

4. Luxembourg

Recruiters look at first:

• Work experience (54%);
• Education (12%)
• Professional qualifications (11%).

Luxembourg managers (8%) are most likely to check language skills first; none check social media profiles.

5. Netherlands

Recruiters look at first:

• Work experience (41%);
• Professional qualifications (20%);
• Education (18%).

6% of Dutch managers look at personal information, the same as language skills.

6. Czech Republic

Recruiters look at first:

• Work experience (67%);
• Professional qualifications (22%).

No Czech recruiter looks at the job title first, and only 1% looks at the photo or language skills.

7. Switzerland

Recruiters look at first:

• Professional qualifications (32%);
• Work experience (29%);
• Technical skills (13%);

Swiss recruiters (10%) are most likely to look at the photo first!
None look at the job title first.

Source: Indicerh.net


Lavieeco.com

Published December 15, 2011.

Posted online December 17, 2011.