By Constanza Escamilla, Digital Marketing and Experience Designer
Starting a new role inside Hunter Crown has been unexpectedly eye-opening. Before stepping into the recruiting world, I thought I understood résumés. I’ve written them, reviewed them for friends, and tailored my own more times than I can count. But being inside a recruiting company made me realize something: I had never truly stopped to ask what recruiters actually look for in a CV and why.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
Certifications and Technical Credentials (But Only If They Matter)
One of the first filters recruiters use is qualifications that are non-negotiable.
For example:
A PE license.
A CPA credential.
Specific technical training or regulatory certifications.
However, here’s the nuance: having the credential does not automatically make you the most placeable candidate.
A CPA without relevant industry experience, or a PE without project leadership exposure, may not rank higher than someone with slightly fewer credentials but stronger, applicable impact. Certifications open doors — but relevance keeps them open.
Recruiters are asking:
Is this required for the role?
Does it align with the job scope?
Is it current and active?
Relevance Over Volume
Many candidates dilute their background by listing everything they’ve ever done.
Recruiters don’t reward volume. They reward alignment.
If you have:
4 years in a highly relevant niche industry
Or deep exposure to a specialized technical area
That can outweigh 10 years of loosely related experience.
The mistake? Trying to prove how experienced you are instead of proving how relevant you are.
A strong CV doesn’t read like a life story. It reads like a strategic response to a job description.
No Professional Summary = Missed Opportunity
One thing that stands out quickly in recruiting is how many strong professionals skip the professional summary.
Your summary is not fluff. It’s positioning.
Recruiters scan resumes in seconds. A clear 3–4 line summary that defines:
Your specialization
Your industry focus
Your value proposition
…can immediately signal whether you’re aligned with the role.
Without it, recruiters must infer your narrative and when reviewing dozens (or hundreds) of applications, they won’t spend extra time connecting the dots.
Achievements>Responsibilities
Listing responsibilities tells recruiters what you were assigned.
Listing achievements tells them what you delivered.
Instead of:
Managed client accounts.
Write:
Managed 25+ client accounts and increased retention by 18% in 12 months.
Recruiters are trained to look for measurable impact:
Revenue growth
Cost reduction
Process optimization
Team leadership
Compliance improvements
And importantly: only include achievements relevant to the position you’re applying for. Awards and recognitions unrelated to the job may dilute your positioning.
Work Experience Is Still the Core
Despite all the formatting advice and resume trends, one thing remains true: your work experience section carries the most weight.
Recruiters evaluate:
Scope of responsibility
Growth trajectory
Stability or strategic movement
Industry exposure
Leadership level
They are assessing patterns:
Are you progressing?
Are you specializing?
Are you intentional?
Years of Experience vs. Career Intentionality
One of the biggest surprises working in recruiting is this:
Years of experience are not as important as clarity of direction.
Someone with 6 focused years in a niche sector can be more attractive than someone with 15 years scattered across unrelated roles.
Recruiters look for:
Career progression
Increasing responsibility
Consistent industry focus
Clear technical depth
Being intentional in your career path signals long-term value to employers.
Active vs. Passive Candidates
There’s also a dynamic many candidates don’t see: active vs. passive candidates.
Active candidates are applying to jobs.
Passive candidates are currently employed and open to the right opportunity.
Passive candidates often appear stronger because:
They are not job-hopping under pressure.
They are selective.
They are positioned as being “recruited,” not “searching.”
This doesn’t mean being active is negative. It simply means your resume must communicate stability, performance, and clarity — not urgency.
The Big Realization
Before being inside a recruiting firm, I thought a resume was about proving how capable you are.
Now I understand it’s about proving how placeable you are.
Recruiters are constantly asking:
Can I confidently present this candidate to my client?
Does this resume reduce friction or create questions?
Is this person aligned, qualified, and strategically positioned?
A strong CV is not about impressing everyone.
It’s about aligning precisely with someone.
And that shift in perspective changes everything.