Vita Advice from Recruiters
As a job-seeker or a candidate for a promotion, you want a recipe for making your vita interview-winning, don’t you? I bet you’ve learned lots of CV writing rules and figured out the perfect length for your profile. However, this isn’t always enough.
Making the document accurate, up-to-date and error-free is critical to help it pass the initial screening stage. Nevertheless, it doesn’t always make the cut and secure you with an interview call.
After interviewing over 500 hiring managers across the US, I’ve identified that recruiters who work with CVs can make recommendations on the structure, highlight skills and achievements, and point out mistakes. Their opinion can be valuable, as recruiters strive to fill an open position with a suitable candidate.
So, what truly makes the difference? Our team of bio authors NYC has collected the answers from people directly responsible for the hiring process – recruiters and hiring managers. Today, we are going to reveal what recruiters look for in documents in the first place and what serves as a decisive factor when picking a candidate for an interview.
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9 resume writing tips from recruiters
A few weeks ago, we’ve mentioned what employers look at when screening your document (read the entire post here: https://resumeperk.com/blog/what-employers-look-for-in-your-professionally-done-resume).
Every day, year after year, professionals in recruitment review dozens and hundreds of applicants’ CVs. For this reason, nobody knows the secrets of an effective resume better than the recruiters do. And today we are going to share the insights about the files that go to ‘Maybe’ pile or win an interview call immediately.
- Read the job description with attention
This advice looks obvious, but for this very reason, it’s often overlooked. Read the employment posting carefully to ensure that you meet qualifications minimum (this may include a specific degree, years of experience, security clearance, and expertise with the specific type of projects). Don’t apply for roles you’re not qualified for – your document will be tossed during the first screening.
Read the employment posting carefully for the application instruction. Some employers might ask you to use a keyword, apply via their website or complete a test task. If you fail to follow these instructions, your application won’t be considered. - Make it easy to skim through
A modern Curriculum Vitae should be easy to skim through. Gone are the days of plain vitas with dense blocks of text and plain formatting. Often, recruiters admit tossing documents which are difficult to read or those with excessively bright, ‘funny’ formatting.
So, what should you do to make a portfolio ‘skimmable’? Use the font which is big enough for comfortable reading. Create shorter sentences and format the lists using bullet points. Finally, save enough blank space on the page (try keeping the word count to less than 400 per page). Documents which look easy to read absorb the hiring managers, whereas those with poor formatting turn them off. - Develop your CV with the golden triangle rule in mind
This rule is one of the most common bio tips from HR. Multiple studies reveal that the recruiters read bios across the top and then go down to the left side. This is where your juiciest career information should be placed. Put your notable accomplishment or a prestigious industry award on the second page, and nobody is ever going to get down to them. However, place it at the top of the first page – and it can become a game-changing factor that will secure you an interview. - Downplay or explain the gaps in employment
Employers don’t like career gaps. Among the two equally qualified candidates, the recruiter is likely to interview the one with progressive experience and currently employed than someone who hasn’t worked for 6 months and more.
Career gaps can be downplayed by including years of employment instead of months and years. If you had taken a career gap to travel or raise kids, prepare to explain this in a cover letter. And also mention how you kept your qualifications actual during this period. - Networking increases your chances dramatically
A great bio can secure you an interview in seconds, that’s true. However, the best positions continue to fill through networking. If someone from the company passes their friend’s profile to a hiring manager, chances are they’ll bypass you.
Pro tip: don’t neglect the quality of your profile, but take care of your connections as well. Try finding a connection within the company and asking them to drop a word about you to the hiring person directly. - Be an ‘achiever’, not a ‘doer’
A ‘doer’ is an applicant whose document is all about what they did in the course of their career. They highlight skills and daily responsibilities (for example, managed project milestones, negotiated with vendors, motivated a team). An ‘achiever’ is a professional who introduces their accomplishments and deliverables (such as completed the project 6 days before a deadline, led a team of 14, reduced travel costs by 11%). Hiring managers love the second CV type – they allow them to see and predict the candidate’s performance. If your Curriculum Vitae is packed with a number of selling accomplishments, you can devote the rest of your time to studying the secret of perfect interview handshake and ironing your best suit. - Mirror the job posting
As we’ve mentioned above, recruiters don’t read documents as they see them for the first time. They skim it through. And their eye is focused on finding specific words and phrases that mean you’re qualified for the position. The best way to convince them that you are is to use the language used in an employment ad.
Using the exact names of skills and qualifications will catch the recruiters attention and help your portfolio stand out. Also, if the company uses the software for screening resumes (who doesn’t these days?), this will help you pass the computer selection as well. And this automated selection is imperative for getting a further consideration with some companies: they will toss your file unless you reach a certain score. - Quality writing means more than you think
Clear, concise, persuasive writing in your portfolio is a must if you want to retain the reader’s attention. Quality writing which is free from mistakes shows you are interested enough in a role and have put in an extra effort into CV writing. If your copywriting skills leave much to be desired, check out our guide to avoid boring writing.
Grammar and spelling mistakes can cost you an interview. It will do you a lot of good to hire an expert editor to correct your flaws in writing. The editing professionals of our online service will improve not only grammar and writing style, but also the design and formatting of your CV. - What is the most popular custom resume advice for college students USA?
As a rule, recruiters’ expectations from student vitas are lower than those of experienced candidates. They assume the lack of experience and seek academic success, enthusiasm and willingness to learn in the first place. However, the common advice recruiters often give to fresh graduates is to use a professional email address. Such email as ‘annydrinkee@icloud.com’ or ‘stupiddude@gmail.com’ don’t create the right impression and can really become a reason for rejecting a bio.
Take care of your online presence and use LinkedIn vita advices from specialists
Upon the review of your document, recruiters will head to Google to find out what the web knows about you. Ideally, they should discover a professionally completed LinkedIn profile and appropriate social media pages.
If there’s something controversial or inappropriate left in your account since the student days, clean it up. And if your LinkedIn profile is half-empty with 45 connections, take care of it as well. Here’s a bit of LinkedIn advice reserved for applicants: https://resumeperk.com/blog/12-linkedin-profile-tips-for-job-seekers. LinkedIn is widely used by recruiters to source and hire talented employees, so it can literally land you an interview without any effort from your side.
Resume building tips for career starters
Most job seekers feel doubts and fear when searching for their first role. Our bio experts are here to help you with that. The biggest problem of the career starters is a lack of relevant work history and relevant experience, and it can be easily solved with the help of the correct focus.
Make a skills-based bio
A functional document seems the best solution for students and other candidates without a worthy work history. Hence your priority is a skills section. Think about your technical skills and soft skills (leadership skills, communication talents). You can show your transferable skills through the prism of your educational background or volunteer work.
Adjust your job title to the requirements of the applicant tracking system
Most modern recruiters use applicant tracking systems catching key words in position titles and CV texts. Analyze your job description to come up with an ATS-friendly resume.
Action verbs make your profile powerful
A big number of verbs add dynamics to your career documents. This part of speech translates actions and results and, thus, makes your document more persuasive.
Helpful hints on the resume format
Structure and format have to be pleasant for a hiring manager's eye. You do not have to be a talented designer to organize the text of your profile.
Highlight relevant strengths
The main part of your portfolio must be devoted to information proving that you are the best candidate for the position. The recruiter expects to see desired skills, achievements, professional experiences; so focus on those parts that will interest him/her.
Your core intent and value to the future employer must be concisely formulated in the CV objective statement, which is also called a bio summary or a summary statement.
A reasonable structure
All the information must be logically grouped into Curriculum Vitae sections. Use bullet points to systemize data and make the document readable and eye-catching.
Resume styles
A winning document can be a matter of an awesome design, especially when it deals with a creative job. Visual appearance is what makes the document stand out among others. Instead of using a generic profile, you can adapt Canva templates or establish a unique design in Figma, for instance.
If you are a top manager in any creative industry, our executive CV creator and designer will establish a modern portfolio for your specific job.
How to apply recommendations to your resume
All the Curriculum Vitae tips have to be carefully analyzed. Many applicants have unique situations: specifics of the role, company’s culture, the situation in the employment market.
For instance, do not blindly follow the rule of a one-page CV, if you have many relevant experiences, competencies, and accomplishments. In this case, it is sensible to use more than one-page resume to list your advantages.
Do not forget that it all begins with the employment listing. In fact, job descriptions contain all the necessary information for your vita. Read your future job duties and pick those of your strengths that will help you cope with them.
Professional bio tips and expert writing assistance
Even the best bio tips can be insufficient for your employment search. That is why our agency offers other types of professional help. One can find a resume sample as well as order a brilliant ready-made CV here too.
We know how to convince the hiring manager that you are a worthy candidate. Our specialists will highlight your relevant skills and professional experience to come up with an efficient Curriculum Vitae or cover letter. Due to a solid practical background, we have managed to master vita writing skills.
The start of the professional path and career progression are easier with the help of our professionals. We’ll help you organize your online portfolio, craft a portfolio or a cover letter.
Get a resume that recruiters will love
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Author: Editorial Team at ResumePerk.com
Reviewed by: Certified Career Expert
Last updated: January 2026
