Why the bottom of a CV is the most important to check first?

When you receive a set of CVs for a vacant position, what is the first thing you check?

I always go straight to the bottom, where personal interests, hobbies, and volunteer work live— this often reveals more about a candidate's cultural fit, personality, and soft skills than their qualifications alone. While qualifications prove they can do the job, the bottom section shows how they work and who they are.

 Why the bottom of the CV matters

• Company Fit: Shared interests or community involvement can highlight values that align with your company culture.

• Soft Skills: Team sports show collaboration, while creative hobbies (like writing or music for fun) demonstrate continuous learning.

• Personality: It acts as a great icebreaker in interviews and shows they are a well-rounded human, not just a list of degrees

• However, qualifications remain a non-negotiable baseline. The bottom section could be a tiebreaker that helps you decide if they will be a great fit for your organisation.

The Risks of Qualification Reliance

• Skills Gap: Degrees show what someone memorised, not what they can execute today.

• Inflation: Candidates often exaggerate proficiency levels in software, languages, or technical tools.

• Cultural Mismatch: A highly qualified employee can still destroy team morale if they lack empathy or communication.

• AI Generation: Many modern CVs are optimised by AI to pass keyword filters, masking true capability.

• Lack of Context: A prestigious university degree does not prove how someone handles high-stress environments

What to Look for Instead

• Behavioural Traits: Look for problem-solving skills, adaptability, and resilience during conversations.

• Proven Performance: Focus on measurable achievements and data rather than vague job responsibilities.

Check that your prospective employee will adopt the culture of your organisation

It is difficult to know with certainty whether a prospective employee will embrace an organisation's culture before they join. However, employers can assess how well a candidate is likely to fit by using a combination of recruitment methods that explore their values, behaviours, and working style.

Some effective approaches include:

• Values-based interviewing: Focus on the organisation's core values rather than just technical skills. For example, if collaboration is important, ask candidates how they contribute to team success or support colleagues.

• Behavioural interviews: Ask candidates to describe real situations from previous roles. Questions such as "Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict within a team" or "Describe a situation where you had to adapt to significant change" can reveal whether their behaviours align with the organisation's values.

• Situational judgement questions: Present realistic workplace scenarios and ask how the candidate would respond. Their answers can indicate whether their decision-making reflects the organisation's culture.

• Reference checks: Speaking with previous employers can help verify whether the candidate consistently demonstrated behaviours such as integrity, reliability, collaboration, and respect.

• Realistic job previews: Giving candidates an honest picture of the role, team, and organisational culture allows them to assess whether the environment suits them, reducing the likelihood of poor cultural fit.

It is also important to recognise that "culture fit" should not mean hiring people who are all alike. Overemphasising similarity can unintentionally reduce diversity and exclude talented candidates with different backgrounds or perspectives. Many organisations now focus on people who share the organisation's core values while bringing new ideas, experiences, and ways of thinking that strengthen the organisation.

Ultimately, no recruitment process can guarantee that someone will embrace an organisation's culture, have the right personality and have good soft skills. The CV is your starting point though and the bottom of the CV can you give you some great pointers to if this person might be a good fit for your organisation.

Chris Hayes

July 2026