I once applied for a job at a well known company that's mentioned at the very bottom of my CV as a hobby. I spoke with 4 different people none of whom ever got

I once applied for a job at a well known company that's mentioned at the very bottom of my CV as a hobby. I spoke with 4 different people none of whom ever got to the bottom to see that I'm actually a big fan of their product. Which was expected but also kind of disappointing. That aside, part of the problem with CV's is that it almost never reveals a person's level of competence or the ability to learn, both of which are critical when recruiting. You can be good at describing your formal responsibilities and bad at, say, coding, or vice versa. A few things that you can add at the top of your CV that I think can make it a little more meaningful: - List your skills with years of experience in each. This one is easy to do and is quite effective. - Ask for honest references from your colleagues and managers and quote them in your CV. This is a bit unusual outside of social networks like LinkedIn and AngelList, but might work. - Include a paragraph that describes your philosophy, the people or views you admire. This may potentially have a stronger positive or a stronger negative effect on the reader, but you probably want to be hired by someone whose views and philosophy are better aligned with your own ones. - A short (even 30 sec!) video can best represent your personality and make your CV stand out among dozens and even hundreds of other candidates. I think going through CV's with the above at the top would make the hiring process more fun and much more efficient too.