What a recruiter actually looks at in the first 10 seconds

I have reviewed CVs professionally for about eight years. Here is what I look for in those first few seconds, honestly.

The current job title

First, I look at the most recent job title. Not the company. The title tells me immediately whether this person is roughly at the right level for the role. If you are a senior manager and we are hiring a director, I keep reading. If you are a junior analyst and we need a VP, I will still look, but I need a compelling reason fast.

The dates

How long did they stay in each place? A pattern of very short tenures across several companies is something I will want to understand. It is not an automatic no, but I will be asking about it. One short stint at an early-stage startup that ran out of money is completely understandable. Four jobs in three years across different industries is something else.

Company names and context

I scan for names mostly to get context. A recognisable brand can help, but smaller companies with good descriptions do just as well. What matters is that you give enough information about the business so I understand what kind of environment you came from.

Specific skills or tools

At this point I am not reading everything. I am skimming for triggers. "Python", "HubSpot", "IFRS", whatever is specific to the role we are filling. If the relevant keyword appears, I slow down and read properly. If it does not appear in the first half of the CV, I often move on.

What I do not look for in the first pass

Your objective statement if it is generic. A list of personality traits. Your hobbies, unless the role specifically mentions them. And anything past the second page on a first skim.

The most common mistake I see is people burying the most relevant thing they have done halfway down. If you did something genuinely impressive, lead a large team, deliver a complex project, hit a significant target, put it somewhere I will see it in the first pass. You have less time than you think. Make the first third of your CV do the heavy lifting.