What to look for when screening CVs

Reading CVs and applications to select the best candidate can be very time consuming, especially when a job posting receives lots of applicants, it’s essential to know what to look for to find qualified candidates.

Here are the things you need to pay attention to when you screen CVs to select the best candidates:

Grammar & Spelling

One single grammar or spelling mistake isn’t the end of the world but if there are multiple mistakes, this does show that the candidate didn’t proofread’ which does go against their attention to detail. If this is an important part of the role, you need to think about dismissing the applicant.

Work experience

The qualifications for a job should be based on which skills, traits, and behaviors are necessary to be successful in the role. A candidate’s work experience can be evaluated as an exact match to the current position. If they have any volunteering experience, this is a nice bonus.

Quantifiable Facts

Every job seeker needs to show that they have accomplished something at a job. It could be as simple as “Made $5000 in sales every month” or “Grew company website hits from 200 to 100,000.” Information like this shows that the candidate is capable of accomplishing something.

Personality and values

Personality and values tends to be related to how well a candidate will fit into a company’s culture, their work team, and the job itself. You can work out a candidate’s personality from their CV if they include their personal interest.