How recruiters in the Netherlands scan your CV
For experienced and early-career applicants, recruiters prioritize clarity, relevance, and evidence. They want to see role fit quickly, not long personal storytelling.
Your first half page should already show target role, strongest achievements, and relevant skills.
If your CV is too generic, callback rates usually drop even when your experience is solid.
Recommended CV layout and section order
Use this order: contact details, summary, work experience, education, skills, and optional certifications/languages.
One page is ideal for early-career candidates; two pages are acceptable for strong, role-relevant experience.
- Keep only role-relevant sections: summary, experience, education, skills, and optional certifications.
- Use short bullet blocks and remove repetitive responsibilities.
- Reserve top third of page one for role fit and strongest evidence.
Write stronger summary and achievement bullets
Avoid generic claims like "hard-working team player." Replace them with action and outcome statements.
For experienced candidates, focus on business outcomes, process improvements, and ownership scope.
- Merge similar achievements into one stronger result statement.
- Replace long context with precise scope and outcome in one line.
- Prefer high-signal numbers over generic adjectives.
Example bullet structure
- Action: what you changed or built.
- Scope: team, process, customers, or budget affected.
- Outcome: measurable result or visible quality improvement.
Keyword and ATS strategy
Mirror the vacancy language in your summary, experience, and skills. This improves ATS pass-through and human scan relevance.
Do not keyword-stuff. Use each keyword where it naturally describes your actual experience.
- Useful keyword examples: role fit, measurable outcomes, ATS-friendly format, clear summary, vacancy alignment.
- Use exact job-title wording when it matches your role.
- Export as PDF and avoid complex design elements in core text sections.
Final pre-apply quality check
If cutting to one page removes essential relevance, use two pages. One-page is a strategy, not a rule.
For high-competition roles, a tight one-page CV can increase scan speed and interview conversion.
- Use one page for early-career or tightly focused role transitions.
- Use two pages when you have multiple highly relevant, measurable achievements.
- Never force one page at the cost of role-critical evidence.
Quick checklist
- ✓Summary is concise and role-specific.
- ✓Experience bullets show actions and outcomes.
- ✓Section order follows Dutch recruiter expectations.
- ✓Keywords match the vacancy language.
- ✓Formatting is ATS-safe and easy to scan.
- ✓PDF export is clean and readable.
- ✓CV is adapted for this exact application.
FAQ
Is one page always better in the Netherlands?+
Not always. One page is strong when focused, but two pages are acceptable for substantial relevant experience.
What should I cut first to fit one page?+
Cut repetitive tasks, older low-relevance roles, and generic profile text before removing high-impact achievements.
Can I keep a projects section on one page?+
Yes, if projects are directly relevant and presented briefly with clear outcomes.
How do I keep ATS quality on one page?+
Preserve vacancy keywords in summary, skills, and top bullets while keeping formatting simple and parseable.
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