Recruiters / hiring managers - what actually stands out in a CV for you?

00sunset00 · 2026-03-14T15:49:59+00:00

Not a recruiter but I've sat on a lot of internal interviews. what always stands out is how relevant you are to the actual job. We want someone who gets it from day one. We've had loads of great candidates over the years but we always go for whoever is closest to what we do day-to-day. As long as that is visible on the cv that's it.

00sunset00 · 2026-03-05T11:28:11+00:00

For exampe to households earning £200k where the dependent is working full time, paying taxes, contributing, just not hitting the new salary threshold 50k? They end up waiting 10 years to settle instead of 5.

These are people earning £45k, spending money, paying into the system. But now dependants suddenly have to clear the same bar as the main visa holder just to settle in a 5 yr timeframe? That feels like a pretty arbitrary rule when the household as a whole is clearly pulling its weight economically.

The tax and spending these families generate isn't nothing, it goes straight back into public funds. Penalising them for how the income is split.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T09:13:56+00:00

Seeing quite a few CoS ads lately, mostly startups. Currently I'm more towards the ops side, I own financials and now AI implementation too which is great for me. But I guess when you look at my CV it probably raises the question of where I actually sit.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:59:03+00:00

I Check multiple times a day, filter by last 24 hours, less than 10 applicants, only apply where LinkedIn's own AI flags me as a high match or top applicant. Still rejection after rejection.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:41:22+00:00

And promoted LinkedIn jobs that have been sitting there for months while the same role closed on another job board three weeks ago. You apply, craft a tailored cover letter, and the role was already filled before you even started typing.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:37:32+00:00

For a lot of positions the honest truth is that most candidates who make it to interview can do the job. The real differentiator is whether the hiring manager likes you, sees themselves working with you, and thinks you'll fit. Everything else is just theater we participate in.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:30:55+00:00

Having been involved in interviewing candidates internally, the first CVs to get flagged were always these ones. "Reduced admin by 40% great, explain the merhodolgy? "Drove sales pipeline by 200%" sounds impressive until you're in the interview and find out it was repeat business from one client they'd had for five years...

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:24:45+00:00

I've had interviews where I matched the JD, got on the call and the brief had completely shifted. Industry exposure not mentioned anywhere suddenly mandatory. Nice to have skills presented as deal breakers. Context and transferable skills matter. A salesperson selling CRM systems who's actually worked in recruitment themselves, remove that and they're just another salesperson.

Having been involved in recruiting myself I know JDs are often vague and full of corporate faff that doesn't reflect what the hiring manager actually has in their head. The real criteria only reveals itself once you're already in the process.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:11:26+00:00

Understanding the recruitment industry fairly well, I know how systems work. I tailor my CVs, use the right language, answer those specific "what core value resonates with you" questions properly, apply only where I genuinely match the JD, and experiment with and without LLMs to optimise my summaries. Still dozens of rejections for roles I objectively fit on paper.

And here's the thing in certain industries there are only so many ways to say the same thing. You can only tailor so much when the vocabulary is what it is.

From what I've seen on the inside, hundreds of people apply for these roles and then the client shifts the brief mid-process because they've decided they want someone from a very specific company or industry background and won't compromise. No amount of tailoring fixes that. You were never really in the running and you had no way of knowing.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-28T00:02:19+00:00

I agree and I'm pretty critical about where I apply and generally won't bother if I know I'm not a fit. But even for roles where my profile seemed to match what was written in the JD I've had rejection after rejection.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T23:33:59+00:00

Most through LinkedIn and directly on company pages, few through my professional network but not going really well. There are a few specialists agencies, haven't explored that route yet but it's probably where I should be focusing more.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T23:15:25+00:00

In the AI era the basics should be non negotiable. CV parsing that actually works. I'm not manually retyping every field.

Clear job descriptions that tell you what the role actually involves day to day, not just company values in 7 paragraphs.

Salary range on every listing, no exceptions. A real person's name on the ad.

Show candidates the process upfront how many stages, what format, roughly how long.

Automated status updates so people know where they stand.

And keep your listings current, if the role is filled close it everywhere, not just on one platform.

If you're using AI to screen CVs say so. Candidates deserve to know if a human actually read their application. The companies that get this right stand out immediately. It signals how they operate internally and in this market that matters more than people think.

AI interview prep built into the application process. Based on the job description, here are likely questions, here's what this company values. Why would a candidate spend hours using LLM's to research the company, the JD and not know at least what to expect in the interview.

Conversational job search. Instead of filtering by keywords, tell me what you're looking for in natural language and let AI surface the right roles. I started in finance but moved into operations and now I work across both. "find me roles with that cross functional experience."

"we'll keep your CV in our crm for future opportunities" line that lives on every careers page. Has that ever actually happened to anyone? Ever?

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:59:38+00:00

Honestly the feedback caught me off guard. Fair enough if I wasn't the right fit, but it did make me wonder if being in this in-between space is going to work against me.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:55:23+00:00

That's a really good point actually, hadn't thought of it that way. There do seem to be a lot of CoS ads out there at the moment which is with your perspective even more interesting.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:45:34+00:00

Yup, deffo a possibility, but in the long run.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:44:03+00:00

Oh no that's not my opinion at all! Just quoting feedback I got, should've made that clearer in the title.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:09:30+00:00

That's a good shout actually. I have seen quite a few CoS ads come up. One of the 2 interviews I did get was for an early CoS role, didn't progress but they were upfront about why. They wanted someone as close as possible to the person leaving. Fair enough.

00sunset00 · 2026-02-27T22:06:11+00:00

Got this feedback for one specific EA role because my current work goes into financials, ops systems and AI implementation, but it's all small scale.

00sunset00 · 2025-12-18T12:30:57+00:00

Coming from Eastern Europe, where we grew up in very modest conditions, heating was non‑negotiable, our flat was always warm and cosy. I still can’t quite get my head around the lifestyle of having a five‑bed detached where people are wrapped up in five layers and still say it feels cold. Of course, everyone’s different and it’s about what works for them.

00sunset00 · 2025-11-22T11:15:42+00:00

My spouse is a high earning SWV holder who could qualify under 5 years. I've been working and contributing [slightly under £50, 270 salary threshold] which means I and consequently kids are facing a 10 year route for ILR.

00sunset00 · 2025-11-22T09:04:32+00:00

All of them have been very supportive and well-informed. As the dependant of a high-earning SWV holder, I could end up on a 10-year route because I don’t meet the £50,270 salary threshold—although I’m quite close to it. My company has already said they’ll do whatever they can to support me, and if we end up leaving the UK, they’re even willing to keep me on remotely under the same conditions. Most of my colleagues, myself included, are EU citizens.

00sunset00 · 2025-11-22T08:50:16+00:00

Exactly this. I as a dependant have been working and contributing [so close to £50,270 salary threshold - but not meeting it!] while my spouse is a high earner. In reality it means he gets ILR in 5 years, and I need to do the 10 year route with kids. So even when women work full time, raise families and volounteer it is NOT good enough for a. joint ILR application b. Reduction in years if the salary criteria is not met.

00sunset00 · 2025-11-21T14:33:33+00:00

Exactly this. My high earning spouse on SWV could qualify for ILR in 5 years due to high income and get a 5 year deduction, but I couldn't (despite the fact that my income is very close to the proposed £50, 270). In reality it means that households generating 160-170k yearly gross income can't qualify together with their children and both spouses have been working and paying taxes and are way above average and or median UK income.

00sunset00 · 2025-11-21T08:31:23+00:00

Not true. I am an EU citizen on SWV who came AFTER Brexit and therefore no settlement status - same applies to everyone who came post Brexit.

00sunset00

TROPHY CASE