Finding the right talent is key to the success of any organisation, but what about when the right talent is you? A recruitment consultant CV should convince the company that you have the skills and experience to help them make the best hiring decisions that move them closer to their goals. Your CV should convey confidence and professionalism right from the start.
Luckily, you don’t have to go it alone. With 65+ CV examples and guides for occupations across industries, Resume.io is an expert resource for job seekers at every stage of their careers. Here’s what we’ll examine in this CV guide, along with the corresponding recruitment consultant CV example:
- What does a recruitment consultant do?
- How to write a recruitment consultant CV (tips and tricks)
- The best format for a recruitment consultant CV
- Advice on each section of your CV (summary, work history, education, skills)
- Professional CV layout and design hints.
What does a recruitment consultant do?
A recruitment consultant, also known as a staffing specialist or headhunter, serves as a bridge between job seekers and companies looking to fill vacant positions. The main goal of a recruitment consultant is to identify and match suitable candidates with job opportunities that align with their skills, qualifications, and career aspirations.
To accomplish this, recruitment consultants utilise a wide range of strategies including:
- Meeting with company representatives to understand their hiring needs and business objectives
- Conducting interviews with potential candidates
- Assessing CVs to evaluate candidates' suitability for specific roles
- Advising and guiding candidates through the job search process
- Working closely with employers to ensure a smooth and successful hiring process
Recruitment consultants must also spend time looking for potential candidates and cultivating a strong network of employers and job seekers. They must stay up-to-date on the skills and qualities needed by top candidates in a particular role or field as well as understanding the overall hiring market. Recruitment consultants help shape successful careers and fulfil the hiring needs of companies across diverse sectors.
How to write a recruitment consultant CV
The first step in writing your recruitment consultant CV is understanding what sections to include. Your CV should contain the following elements:
- The CV header
- The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
- The employment history section
- The CV skills section
- The education section
Recruitment consultants should be aware that their CVs will face extra scrutiny by hiring managers as they are employed to evaluate the CVs and applications of other job seekers. That means there is no room for error in either the writing or formatting of your recruitment consultant CV.
It likely comes as no surprise that the first step before beginning to craft your CV will be to review the job description posted by the company. What are their overall hiring goals? What is the company culture? What problem are they hoping a recruitment consultant can solve for them? Answering these questions will help you customise your CV to the specific company and role.
Looking for more inspiration for your CV? Check out these related human resources CV examples:
Choosing the best CV format for a recruitment consultant
Recruitment consultants know how important a strong CV format is, and that certain formats are easier to evaluate than others.
The reverse chronological format is the logical choice for most recruitment consultants as it focuses on your previous experience and gives you space to describe the results you brought about for other clients. This is the format most employers expect to see and we recommend it for any candidate with experience in their field, unless there is a very compelling reason to choose an alternative format.
The reverse chronological format gets its name from the fact that previous experience is listed from most recent to oldest, going back to about ten years (or as long as is relevant.) This structure is also the easiest for ATS algorithms to scan as they look for CV keywords.
Beat the ATS!
Applicant Tracking Systems (known as ATS) are algorithms built into virtually every online application portal. These CV scanners look for keywords programmed in by the employer as being important to the role. CVs are ranked against each other and the strongest candidates are passed onto employers for review, while lower-scoring applicants can get automatically filtered out before a hiring manager ever reads a word of their CV.
While this is an unfortunate reality for many applicants, there are a few concrete steps you can take to keep it from happening to you:
- Look for potential keywords in the job description (the name of the company itself is one that applicants often overlook!).
- Place the keywords into the appropriate sections of your CV, paying close attention to the skills and summary sections.
- Create a clean, organised CV layout free of excess design elements and images to ensure the scanner has no difficulty reading your CV.
CV header
The header of your CV is an important part of building a visual identity for yourself as an applicant. The primary purpose of the CV header is to keep your name, email, and phone number all in one place so that the hiring manager can find it if they want to get in touch. As a recruitment consultant, it is also imperative that you include your LinkedIn profile or website (preferably both) in the header.
Beyond the information, however, the CV header also allows you to stand out from the crowd and add a touch of personal branding. You should consider your own image along with the company’s when choosing to add colours or other design elements to this section. We’ll cover layout and design suggestions later on in this guide.
CV summary example
The CV summary is 3-4 sentences at the top of the page where you can introduce yourself, your most relevant experience, and your most impressive accomplishments. The goal of the summary is to grab the hiring manager’s attention and stand out in a crowded application pool. Make sure to focus on only the most intriguing bits of your profile – the goal is that the employer will be able to find more details further down the page. The summary is also the place to add a bit of (professional) personality and describe what sets you apart. See our adaptable summary example below.
Experienced staffing professional dedicated to connecting businesses with exceptional talent to fill a wide range of open roles. Demonstrated capacity for efficiently evaluating candidates for skillset and culture fit, empowering businesses to cultivate robust, driven teams in line with unique needs.
Employment history sample
The employment history section of your CV is likely the place that will draw the hiring manager’s attention first so it’s important to craft it well and with a specific company in mind. For each previous project or role, create subheadings with the company name, your title, the dates worked and location. If you were working in a freelance consulting capacity, make sure to mention that within the first bullet point.
You’ll want to add 4-5 bullet points to each subheading to describe your duties, skills, and most importantly the results of your work. Try to quantify each accomplishment with numbers or statistics, whether that be in terms of hires made, budgets managed, or time saved. Check out our employment history CV sample below for inspiration.
Recruitment Consultant at DynamoTech, Gloucester, UK
December 2018 - August 2023
- Expertly connected talent with viable role matches, sourcing candidates for a wide range of internal roles in line with current and projected business needs.
- Interviewed and assessed potential hires, evaluating individuals for alignment with role requirements, company culture, and long-term goals.
- Facilitated the seamless integration of new talent, partnering with management to lead onboarding, training, and ongoing performance management.
- Built and maintained robust recruiting pipelines, fostering relationships with local educational institutions to secure a continuous flow of potential recruits.
- Maintained current knowledge of market conditions, ensuring competitive employment packages to entice top talent.
Recruiter at Underwood LLC, Gloucester, UK
September 2015 - November 2018
- Partnered with managers and leadership team to define recruitment needs, identifying business gaps and openings.
- Analysed candidate resumes against role requirements, shortlisting best-fit applicants for leadership review.
- Performed comprehensive background and reference checks on potential new hires to screen out red flags.
HR Associate at H&M, Gloucester, UK
August 2010 - August 2015
- Supported recruiting and hiring processes, sourcing and interviewing candidates for roles across the business.
- Prepared job descriptions for advertising, detailing role functions and requirements to secure best-fit talent.
- Facilitated required training and on-boarding for new hires.
CV skills example
Think of the skills section of your CV as a “greatest hits” list. This is the place for an employer to check your abilities, personal qualities, and areas of expertise at a glance. Make sure to balance “hard skills” (technical abilities) with “soft skills” like your interpersonal skills or personality traits. You should also pay extra attention to include any specific skills mentioned in the job description using the employer’s exact language to increase your chances of getting past the CV scanners. See our adaptable CV sample below.
- Talent Sourcing
- Recruitment
- HR Leadership
- Talent Management
- Role Definition
- Onboarding & Training
- Candidate Interviewing
- Background & Reference Checks
Recruitment consultant CV education example
While recruitment consultants can come from a wide variety of educational backgrounds, it is preferable that you can show an advanced degree on your CV. Make sure to list your education in reverse chronological order like you did for your employment history section. Add the degree name, the name of the school, the location, and dates attended. If you have completed a university degree, you can leave off your secondary education. See our adaptable CV example below.
Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, UK
September 2006 - May 2010
CV layout and design
The layout and design of your CV is an essential component when it comes to conveying your professionalism and interest in the role. You should firstly consider the image of the company when choosing a layout.
Big, bold colours should be reserved for company cultures where ordinary is not an option. Otherwise, a neutral colour scheme and professional font are your best choice to make a strong first impression. When in doubt, it’s better to err on the side of caution – you can let more of your personality shine in the interview. A professionally designed CV template can make it easy to strike the right balance of attractiveness and professionalism.
Here are a few more tips for a great CV layout:
- Opt for a clean and organised CV layout
- Include your website and/or LinkedIn in your header
- Create a balance of white space to text to keep your CV easy to read
- Change the page margin size to squeeze in more text or make your experience look bigger
- Go overboard with colours or eccentric design elements
- Use nontraditional heading titles – stick with “Education” or “Employment” instead
Key takeaways for a recruitment consultant CV
- Recruitment consultants will need to take extra care when preparing their CVs as they are considered to be hiring experts and will face extra scrutiny during the application process.
- A strong header for a recruitment consultant CV should always include your LinkedIn profile and/or professional website.
- Offer concrete numbers in the employment history section of your CV to show the positive impact you can have on a company.
- Check out our adaptable recruitment consultant CV sample to get started creating your own!
