This One CV Mistake Made Me Invisible to Hiring Algorithms

A few months ago, I was deeply in the trenches of hunting at work, sending candidates as if there were no tomorrow.

I thought I had a decent CV – after all, I spent hours refining his design and text to make it “brilliant”.

But the reality struck hard. After submitting 100 requests, I won a single interview and an online assessment. It is a conversion rate of 2% – a number that would terrify any job seeker. I knew something was wrong, and I was determined to understand what.

Looking back, my old CV was an example of a manual of what not TO DO. He had two critical errors that silently sabothed my chances.

First, style was a disaster for candidates monitoring systems (ATS). I styled it myself to bring it out, without using a model, but I did not know that the ATS software – the goalkeeper of most job requests – could not read it correctly. For the machine, my CV was practically invisible.

Second, I wasted a precious space with a text block profile at the top. Instead of presenting achievements and experience, I wrote a generic paragraph on myself. It looked good, but it did nothing to attract attention or get interviews.

The lesson was clear: a CV is not a portfolio or a biography – it is a tool.

If you don't get interviews, it doesn't work.

This conversion rate of 2% was an alarm clock. I decided to redo my CV from zero, this time by focusing on what really works. I dug best practices and distilled them in Five key rules This has transformed my work hunting game.

1. Highlight key achievements – present your most precious / relevant experience
2. View impact with numbers – Use digital data to demonstrate the results you have obtained at work or during studies
3. Keep things simple – easy to read, both in style and in the sense
4. Get a page-HR don't have much time, short and precise
5. Use keywords – help pass the ATS scan

The results?

My new CV has produced a 20% conversion rateLanding interviews for 1 applications out of 5 – a massive jump that opened doors that I would never have thought possible.

The first day with my new CV, I sent 5 requests and I obtained 3 invitations to interviews!

If my trip taught me something, it's a good CV is not pretty air – it's about work intelligent. Do you want to pass your CV to the next level and see results as I did?

Let's talk!

Add me Linked in

See examples of good CVs here!

Do not hesitate to contact me on Li or TG for all the questions you might have

🚀🚀🚀