When you complete your CV and send it out into the world, where does it actually go?

What happens to your document between the moment it leaves your desktop/laptop and the moment you’re called in for an interview?

How do great CVs actually lead to open doors, expanded options, and thriving employer-employee relationships?

The answer is based on a complex blend of technology, psychology, economics, and workplace organization, but here are seven simple steps breakdown:

Step 1
The CV leaves your possession. You’ve found a job posting you’d like to pursue, a recruiter who shows interest in you, or a contact who wants to pass your information along to a friend. You pass along your CV (with or without an attached letter of introduction) via email, a submission website, or a document sharing app.

Step 2
Your CV enters a database. The recruiter or employer who takes possession of your CV will probably add it to a file or database containing dozens or hundreds of others. Dozens if your CV has gone directly into the hands of the manager who will make a final hiring decision (skip to step 4). Hundreds if the CV has been sent to an HR Office, a general company inbox, or a recruiter who will perform an initial screening for her employer clients.

Step 3
Your CV lingers in the database until it shows up in the results of a keyword search. The recruiter, HR manager, or hiring manager who conducts the search will enter keywords with specific phrases that match the needs of the position, like “ICAN certified,” “degree in Microbiology,” “French fluency,” or “Senior level sales manager.”

Step 4
Your CV will be skimmed. Human eyes will review your carefully polished text for the first time. Chances are, this initial skim will last less than 30 seconds. Most likely, a reviewer’s eyes will move all the way across the first few lines at the top of the page, halfway across the lines in the middle of the page, and only through the subheadings of anything that falls onto the bottom third. If your CV doesn’t pass this initial skim, it probably won’t be looked at again.

Step 5
If your CV passes the first quick review, it will be picked up again a few hours or days later and given a more careful examination. If it passes muster, it may be handed over to a second or third pair of eyes for perspective and commentary. Details that match the position perfectly (like ideal educational credentials) will be held up against mismatches (like a geographic area outside of commuting distance, or three years of clinical experience instead of the required ten).

Step 6
If your CV survives these conversations and comparisons, it will be moved into a final round of contenders. If the employers can only interview five candidates, and they have 20 great CVs, this is where the hard work, attention to detail, and lost sleep you invested in your CV will pay off. The difference between one verb choice and another, or a single typo, can put you a step ahead of your competitors or make you fall out of the running.

Step 7
Once an interview decision is made, your CV’s hardest job will be over. After your phone rings and the interview is scheduled, the rest of the process will be up to you.

Conclusion
Once you’re hired, your CV may be kept on file for the duration of your tenure with the company (and possibly longer). This means that even after you land the position, your CV will still play a minor role in the progress of your career.

BONUS
Congratulations for reading through this whole epistle. Only the serious ones will come this far. Now, since I’m on leave from work, I have decided to be a blessing to a dozen of Nairalanders. Send your CV as an attachment to exceptionalcv2014@gmail.com and let me use my newly constructed CV Template to “wow” you by repackaging/re-writing your CV for you. YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY ME. Just take a look at what I’ve turned your CV to, then you may send me a thank you “note” later. Note however that if your CV is relatively good, I’ll simply commend you and won’t bother myself re-writing it. Use FREE CV RE-WRITE as the subject of your mail.

Please, do not post your email addresses here.

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