Free · from Aditya Jhunjhunwala

The CV a CEO actually shortlists

I read a CV in 6 seconds and I stop at the first line with no proof in it. So I made the exact format I shortlist. Not a pretty template. The boxes, in the order I actually read them, with the rule for each one.

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The CV I shortlist (fill in the blanks)

Read this once before you fill it: I read top to bottom and I stop at the first box that has no proof in it. So every box has to earn the next one. Words are not proof. A link is proof. A number is proof. A thing I can open is proof.

Box 1

The one line (this is the whole CV in 6 seconds)

I help ______ do ______. Here is one thing I built: ______ [LINK].

Rule: no "objective," no "seeking a challenging role." The first thing I see is who you help and one link I can click. If there is no link in box 1, I am already gone.

Worked example: "I help small clinics stop missing appointments. I built a WhatsApp reminder bot two clinics now use: [link]."

Box 2

Three proof blocks (not jobs, not marks, proof)

For each of three things you have built, fill exactly this:

What was broken: ______
What I made: ______
What changed (a number or a before-and-after): ______
Link or screenshot: ______

Rule: spec work counts. No client yet means you pick a brand you love, fix something of theirs, and show the before and after. A screenshot beats a paragraph. If you cannot put a link or an image, it is not a proof block yet, it is a claim. Cut it.

Box 3

Skills, but only the ones box 2 already proved

Skills shown above: ______

Rule: you are only allowed to list a skill that appears in one of your three proof blocks. "Team player, hardworking, quick learner," gone. If box 2 does not show it, you do not get to claim it.

Box 4

The boring facts, kept to four lines

Education (one line): ______
Tools you actually use: ______
Where to find your work (one link): ______
How to reach you (one button): ______

Rule: this is the bottom of the page, not the top. Your degree is a fact about you, not the proof of you. One line. Move on.

Run this on yourself

The 6-second test

Cover everything except box 1. Read only that. Do you know what this person built and can you click it? If yes, you survive. If no, your CV dies where mine died: at the first line with no proof in it.

Before and after (one real rewrite, illustrative):

Before"Objective: a motivated, hardworking individual seeking a challenging role to utilise my skills in a reputed organisation."
After"I help D2C brands fix the page where buyers drop off. I rebuilt a skincare brand's checkout as spec work and cut the steps from 5 to 2: [link]."

Same person. One survives 6 seconds. One does not.

Fill it in tonight. Then reply to my DM with your one line of proof and I will tell you if it survives 6 seconds. Adi