Check your CV

Many employers sort CVs with hiring software before a person reads them. The CV check in the Nchito app reads your CV the way that software does and tells you what gets in the way.

How to run it

1. In the app, upload your CV as a PDF or Word (DOCX) file. You can keep up to 10 resumes and choose one as your default.
2. The check runs as soon as the upload finishes. It reads the first 10 pages.
3. Open the resume to see your score out of 100 and the list of things to fix. You can run the check again at any time after you change the file.

If the file cannot be read, for example because it is a scanned picture of a page, you get one finding that says so. The upload still works.

What it looks at

• Contact details. An email address, a phone number and the town you live in, written in the body of the CV. Details that only appear in a page header or footer are often missed by hiring software.
• Layout software can read. Tables, text boxes and icons can scramble the order of your text. Clear section headings such as Experience, Education and Skills help the software find each part.
• Clutter. More than 3 pages or about 1,100 words, very long paragraphs, no bullet points, whole lines in capitals, or several different date styles.
• Skills. Fewer than 3 skills that employers in Zambia look for.

How the score works

Every CV starts at 100. Each finding takes points off:

• Critical: 25 points. Fix these first, they can stop a CV being read at all.
• Warning: 10 points.
• Tip: 3 points.

A high score does not guarantee an interview, and a lower one does not stop you applying. It shows what to fix before an employer sees it.

The skills in your CV matter twice

The skills the check finds are also used to recommend jobs to you and to show, on each job, the skills you have and the ones you are missing. Name your skills plainly, for example Excel, Pastel or Class C driving licence.