Reading through a pile of CVs can become time consuming and feel never ending, especially if you’ve received a large number of candidates for your job role.

To avoid spending too much time on this, it is important to know how to screen a CV so that you can find the best candidate for you.

Here are some of the things to look for when screening through CV’s:

Grammar and spelling:

Making one single grammatical or spelling mistake isn’t hard to do, especially if the candidate has written a large amount of information – it’s almost to be expected.

However, if a candidate’s CV is littered with mistakes, it can indicate that they haven’t spent the time to read back through their work and check for any mistakes. If showing attention to detail is an important part of the job they are applying for, you might want to consider if they are the ideal candidate for you.

Gaps in employment history:

Although there may be a valid reason for a gap in someone’s employment history, it could also be an indication that something worth investigating has happened. If the candidate hasn’t already explained the reasoning for the gap, it could be worth questioning and finding out more about the reasoning behind this.

Dates adding up correctly:

If the dates that a candidate provides on their CV don’t add up, this could be a cause for concern. This could be explained by the candidate becoming confused when trying to remember their past work experience.

However, it could also be a sign that a candidate hasn’t taken the time to check if they are correct- or they are simply trying to lie. This could show that they aren’t trustworthy and are willing to be dishonest for their own benefit.

Have they structured their CV properly:

Having the ability to create and format a neat CV is important. It shows that the candidate takes pride in their work and can organise it in a chronological order. Having a CV that appears to be messy and in a random order will prove harder to read.

It may also show that they can be lazy at times and that it reflects in their work at times. This is something to be mindful of when employing someone new.

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