Between the generalization of automatic sorting software and the increase in the number of applications per job offer, a CV sent in 2024 goes through several filters before reaching a human eye. Optimizing your CV to attract recruiters’ attention requires understanding these filters and then adjusting each line of the document accordingly. What elements weigh the most in the selection process, and where are the gaps between candidates’ practices and recruiters’ actual expectations?
ATS Filtering and Human Reading: Two Distinct Evaluation Grids
A CV first goes through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) before being read by a recruiter. These two steps do not evaluate the same criteria. Confusing the two leads to optimizing for one at the expense of the other.
| Criterion | What the ATS Checks | What the Recruiter Evaluates |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Exact presence of terms from the job offer (skills, job title, tools) | Relevance and consistency of skills with the position |
| File Format | Readability of the file (simple PDF, no complex columns or embedded images) | Visual clarity, information hierarchy |
| Structure | Detection of standard sections (experience, education, skills) | Logical path, career progression |
| Quantified Results | Not analyzed by most ATS | Major differentiating factor between two similar profiles |
| Photo / Design | Ignored or source of parsing errors | Variable appreciation depending on the sector |
The most significant gap concerns quantified results. The ATS does not weigh them, but quantified results are the primary differentiating factor in human reading. A candidate who writes “15% increase in revenue for the assigned portfolio” immediately stands out from a CV listing generic tasks.
For candidates who want to quickly generate a structured document, platforms like CV Wanted offer templates designed for ATS compatibility while maintaining a layout readable by a recruiter.
Job Keywords in the CV: Calibration Method by Offer
Adapting your CV to each job offer is a piece of advice repeated everywhere. The concrete question is: which keywords to include, and where to place them so that the ATS detects them without the CV becoming an artificial list?
Extracting Discriminating Terms from the Offer
Each offer contains recurring terms that correspond to the filtering criteria set in the ATS. The exact job title, the mentioned technical skills, and the cited tools (payroll software, CRM, programming language) form the foundation.
- Use the job title as it appears in the offer, in the CV title or in the summary. An ATS searching for “property management officer” will not automatically relate “real estate manager”.
- Include key skills in a dedicated section and in the description of experiences. The double presence strengthens the matching score.
- Use acronyms and their expanded form: “ATS (Applicant Tracking System)”, “SEO (Search Engine Optimization)”. Some software only recognizes one of the two forms.
Adapting Without Falsifying
Rephrasing a real skill to match the vocabulary of the offer is not cheating. Inventing a skill absent from one’s background, however, is detectable as soon as the interview. Calibration involves choosing, among your experiences, those that best meet the position and describing them with the recruiter’s vocabulary.
Using AI to Write a CV: What Recruiters Really Accept
Artificial intelligence is now involved on both sides of the recruitment process. On the recruiter side, 79% report using generative AI tools in their activities, but only 27% actually use them for the sorting and selection phase. Adoption remains partial in the operational aspect.
On the candidate side, the question is how far AI is tolerated. According to a OnePoll survey conducted in June 2026 among 200 HR professionals in France, 93% of recruiters accept at least some use of AI in writing or formatting a CV. Only 7% believe that no use is acceptable.
In contrast, AI-generated cover letters are perceived much more negatively: 68% of recruiters believe that the letters look alike and no longer allow for differentiation between candidates. The CV thus benefits from a much broader tolerance than the letter, probably because formatting and structuring experiences are seen as technical tasks where software assistance seems legitimate.
Summary and Professional Experiences: The Two High-Impact Areas
Once past the ATS filter, the recruiter spends a very short time on the first reading. Two areas of the CV capture attention first.
The Summary at the Top of the CV
Two to three lines under the title, the summary encapsulates the profile, the targeted sector, and the main added value. It replaces the old mention of “professional objective” with a formulation focused on what the candidate brings. A profile seeking an internship in management might mention their current training and the frequency of presence in the company.
The Experience Section
Each experience benefits from following a consistent format: job title, company name, dates, followed by two to four achievements described with an action verb and, when possible, a measurable result. Generic tasks (“participation in project management”) provide no distinctive information.
- Replace “social media management” with “creation and publication of 12 monthly contents, with an audience growth of X% over six months”.
- For junior profiles or those in training, highlight academic projects, internships, and technical skills acquired rather than leaving sections empty.
- Remove experiences that have no connection to the targeted position if the CV exceeds one page. Conciseness enhances readability.
The volume of applications per offer in France makes the sorting work more selective. A CV calibrated to ATS criteria, enriched with concrete results, and tailored to each offer remains the most direct lever to pass the two selection stages.
The broad tolerance of recruiters towards AI for CV formatting opens an additional margin for optimization, provided it is not extended to content where detection is more stringent.