Does your CV pass the 10-sec test?

If you’re finding that a very large number of your job applications are getting ignored with no answer or getting rejected then one of the reasons could be that your CV does not pass the 10-sec test. A larger number of all the recruiters agree that due ever-growing number of applications, they take only 6-10 sec to scan a profile and decide whether to proceed further or to reject at the first glance.

Here is what you can do to successfully pass through the eyes within 10 sec

1. Make a high impactful career summary ( a kind of elevator pitch ) showcasing the below 5 elements so that recruiter can get at a first glance what she is looking for.

• Who you are
• What are you offering
• What skills you possess
• How you can distinguish from the crowd
• How you can help the organization

2. Keep the skills section as close to career summary so that a recruiter finds it is very easy and quick to match it with the job spec.
3. Avoid any unrealistic achievement specially if you could not showcase how you brought that forward. Such embellishments brings an immediate rejections
4. Recruiters although understand the key terminologies and overall job function but they are not most often are not technical people so write the work ex which is free from unnecessary jargons
5. Unrelated information is a killer – Especially if your CV is long and if it contains a lot of unnecessary information (not required for the job spec) then possibly it’s doomed to fail.

Finally, consider your CV as sales pitch focussing on your quality without showing any desperation.