Article · Both sectors

The CV that gets read

Every application to Dalton Handley is read by Charles. Here is what he is looking for in the first thirty seconds, and what gets in the way.

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A single sheet of paper with reading glasses on it

Lead with outcomes, not duties. A partner does not want to know you managed the pitch process. They want to know you won the $9m tender, or built the key client programme that added three panels in a year. Numbers, firms described if not named, dates.

Two pages. The first page should tell the whole story on its own: who you are, the firms, the level, the three things you are known for. The second page is evidence.

Cut the words that do everything and nothing. Passionate, dynamic, results driven, stakeholder management. Replace each with the thing you actually did.

And tell me what you want next. The CVs that get a call back are the ones where it is obvious what the right next role looks like, because that is the one I can go and find.

A few things that get a CV put down. Gaps with no explanation, when one line would do. A list of every system you have ever used. Three pages of duties that could describe anyone at your level in any firm. A photo. An objective statement that says you are seeking a challenging role in a dynamic environment. None of these are fatal on their own. Together they tell a partner you did not think about who would read it.

The best CVs are written for one reader: the person who will decide whether to meet you. They answer the three questions that reader has in the first thirty seconds. Can this person do the job? Have they done something like it before? Will the partners want them in front of clients? Everything that helps answer those stays. Everything else goes.

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