You’ve probably heard the stat: recruiters spend just six seconds reviewing a CV before deciding yes or no. It’s been cited in every hiring article since 2012.
It’s also a terrible way to hire.
Why six seconds produces bad outcomes
Six seconds is enough time to register a company name, a job title, and whether the formatting looks professional. It’s not enough time to evaluate whether someone can actually do the job.
The result is that CV screening at six seconds per candidate is really brand recognition screening. People who worked at companies you’ve heard of, universities you recognise, and job titles that match what you’re used to seeing get through. Everyone else doesn’t.
That’s a bias factory, not a hiring process.
What a better CV review looks like
A better approach takes 90 seconds per CV, not six, but it’s structured so every second counts.
First 30 seconds: does this person meet the hard requirements? Relevant experience, required skills, appropriate seniority. Binary check against your rubric.
Next 60 seconds: what’s the quality of evidence? Are achievements specific and measurable or vague and generic? Does the career trajectory make sense for this role? Are there signals of genuine impact or just job descriptions dressed up as accomplishments?
That’s it. Ninety seconds, structured, consistent. Not six seconds of gut instinct.
The volume problem with 90-second reviews
Ninety seconds per CV across 200 applications is still five hours of work. That’s where AI screening takes the first pass, applying your rubric instantly across every candidate, so your 90-second structured reviews are focused on the 20 to 30 candidates who actually cleared the bar.
Sieve runs this process automatically. Upload your pool, get a ranked shortlist with scores and summaries, and spend your time on the candidates who deserve it. Start free at sievecv.com.