When recruiters scan hundreds of CVs every month, only a few immediately stand out. We spoke with Jovan Kostic, Senior Recruiter at Swisslinx, and Aurora Lorien La Rosa, Account Manager at Swisslinx, to understand what truly makes a CV effective in the Swiss market — and what holds candidates back.
1. First impressions matter: structure beats style
Both recruiters agree: clarity always wins.
“A great overall structure, a quick summary at the top, and clearly listed tools and technologies immediately stand out.”
— Jovan Kostic
Aurora reinforces this from a readability perspective:
“Clear structure, good readability, and information that stands out clearly — titles, tasks, dates — make a CV easy to scan.”
Swisslinx insight:
Your CV doesn’t need fancy design. It needs to be scannable, structured, and logical.
2. The most common CV mistakes recruiters see
Mistakes are often small — but costly.
According to Jovan, a surprisingly common issue is:
Missing locations of previous roles (critical in Switzerland)
Aurora sees the opposite extremes:
CVs overloaded with technical detail that hide real achievements
CVs that are too superficial, listing only job titles and dates without context
Swisslinx insight:
A strong CV balances detail + clarity. Enough information to understand your impact — not so much that the message gets lost.
3. Ideal CV length: quality over quantity
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
Jovan:
“Depending on seniority, between 2–5 pages — especially for contractors.”
Aurora:
“Ideally no longer than 3 pages.”
Swisslinx insight:
Length matters less than relevance. Senior contractors can go longer — but every page must earn its place.
4. What makes a CV strong in the Swiss market
Here, both recruiters are very aligned.
Key strengths in Switzerland include:
Swiss work experience
Strong, recognisable company names
Language skills (especially German)
Clear location and availability
Well-defined project descriptions
“Finance IT and non-finance IT candidates are almost two different types of humans.”
— Jovan Kostic
“Each industry values different strengths — tailoring your CV to the industry is just as important as tailoring it to the role.”
— Aurora Lorien La Rosa
Final advice from Swisslinx recruiters
Be authentic (Jovan)
Be relevant (Aurora)
Tailor every CV
Communicate, but don’t overdo it
A great CV doesn’t just list experience.
It tells a clear, honest story that fits the role, the industry, and the Swiss market.
