CV review session with Leo Johansson-Stockford: sales, mobile developer, and frontend engineer roles

May 19, 2026

What actually happens when a recruiter reads your CV? In this session, recruiter Leo Johansson-Stockford — with 10 years of experience in Finland across tech, gaming, SaaS, consulting, defense, and headhunting — reviews real CVs side-by-side with job descriptions and explains exactly how recruiters evaluate candidates.

Together, we discuss:

How recruiters analyze CVs
Why do some candidates get interviews and others don’t
Finnish language requirements in Finland
The current market for developers and internationals,
And how to present your experience in a way that clearly shows impact and value.

The session includes examples of sales, mobile developer, and frontend engineer roles, along with practical feedback on what works, what creates questions for recruiters, and what can make a profile stronger. If you are applying for jobs in Finland, this session will help you better understand how hiring decisions are actually made.

And following the CV review session, Leo answered some questions that participants asked. The QA part is also available on Spotify.

Is it worth applying for roles if you’re not fluent in Finnish, even when the role requires it?

Whether it’s “worth it” is ultimately a personal decision. If a role states that Finnish is required, you should be aware that the company may strictly enforce that requirement. For example, they may decide not to move forward if fluent Finnish is not mentioned on your CV.

At the same time, it depends on the nature of the role. If the job involves speaking with Finnish customers — for example in sales — or writing content in Finnish, then the answer may realistically be no.

Lidiia's comment:

However, there are exceptions. I recently interviewed someone with highly specialized laboratory experience. She applied for two positions where the job descriptions were entirely in Finnish, even though she did not speak Finnish herself. She ended up receiving offers for both roles and is now managing a team of Finns as a project manager. So it really depends on the role and the value of your expertise.

What do you think about “fake” job descriptions and why companies post them?

Yes, this does happen, although “fake” may not be the best word. Publishing a job ad takes time and resources, so companies usually have a reason for doing it. Sometimes companies know a role may open later in the year and want to build a pipeline of potential candidates in advance. In other cases, a role may be published and then closed before interviews begin because the business needs change.

For example, I’ve worked on sales roles where we published the position, but later the team realized they actually needed someone much more senior. In those situations, the role gets removed. From the outside, it may look like a fake job posting because it suddenly disappears, but often there are genuine business reasons behind it.

That said, pipeline-building is probably the most common reason I’ve seen. It’s frustrating as a job seeker because you apply, hear nothing back, and then see the role reposted later. But even in well-run companies, priorities and hiring requirements can change quickly based on market conditions or business decisions.

One participant asked three questions:

How can a CV pass ATS systems before reaching a recruiter?
What percentage of the required skills is usually acceptable?
Should skills on a CV be measurable?

Regarding the second question, there’s no universal percentage. It depends entirely on the role. Some positions may have one critical requirement, while others may have ten. My general advice is to focus on the top three hard requirements listed in the job description — these are usually the most important.

For the third question: skills only become meaningful when you can show how you used them.

For example, saying “I’m good at recruitment” means very little on its own. But saying:

managed 20 roles simultaneously,
achieved an 80% offer acceptance rate,
hired 50 people per year,

gives evidence of the skill. Recruiters and hiring managers care much more about results and impact than generic skill lists.

On the topic of ATS systems, there are many misconceptions.

Recruiters can still see the actual file you upload, whether it’s a PDF, Word document, or another readable format. Some ATS systems try to extract and organize information automatically, but as long as the document is readable, it’s usually fine.

Formatting issues can become a problem if elements overlap or the file becomes unreadable, but that’s often a document issue rather than an ATS issue.

Some ATS systems generate candidate “scores” or rankings, but in my experience those scores can be unreliable. For example, I once uploaded my own CV to an accounting role and received an 80% match score, despite having no accounting experience, simply because the system noticed keywords like “AI.”

That’s why the best approach is to make your CV easy for humans to read. Clarity matters more than trying to “beat” the ATS.

Should You Customize Your CV for Every Job?

Yes.

Recruiters compare your CV directly against the job description. If your CV clearly references similar projects, tools, or responsibilities mentioned in the role, it becomes much easier to see your fit for the position.

For example, during a Talent Acquisition hiring process, we had candidates with five years of generic recruitment experience. Another candidate had only three years of experience, but specifically within the defense industry and on highly relevant projects. That candidate moved forward because their background aligned more closely with the role.

Tailoring your CV makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to understand why you fit the position.

What About Europass CV Builders?

They’re completely fine.

At the end of the day, recruiters mainly care about:

whether the information is accurate,
whether it’s relevant to the role,
and whether the CV is readable.

The format itself is usually less important.

That said, for certain roles — such as communications or design positions — presentation may matter more. Some hiring managers expect strong visual communication skills to be reflected in the CV itself.

For example, one hiring manager I worked with automatically rejected CVs longer than three pages for communications roles because they believed strong communicators should present information concisely.

So in most cases, content matters more than format — but there are some role-specific exceptions.

What About Using AI to Write CVs and Cover Letters?

Using AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot is generally fine, especially for identifying keywords and tailoring language to the job description. In fact, using similar terminology to the job ad can help demonstrate alignment with the role.

However, the most important thing is accuracy.

Some candidates paste a job description into AI tools and receive generated CVs containing experience they never actually had. When recruiters ask about those experiences during interviews, the inconsistency immediately becomes a problem.

If you use AI:

always verify the information,
make sure the experience is genuinely yours,
and ensure the final CV still sounds natural and authentic.

It’s also worth noting that some recruiters strongly dislike obviously AI-generated applications, while others don’t mind at all. Opinions vary significantly between recruiters and companies.

One Column or Two Columns?

For most recruiters, it doesn’t matter.

What matters is:

readability,
relevance,
and accuracy.

The only time formatting becomes a real issue is when the font or layout makes the CV difficult to read.

Is Initial Screening Done by AI or Manually?

Personally, I review CVs manually.

I use AI tools mainly for note-taking during interviews because it allows me to focus more on the conversation itself. But I don’t use AI to decide whether someone deserves an interview.

What If You Have More Experience Than the Role Requires?

Many candidates worry about being “overqualified.”

Personally, I don’t believe overqualification is usually a problem. If someone has more experience and it’s relevant, that often simply means they’ll perform well in the role.

Some hiring managers worry experienced candidates may leave quickly, but that’s more of a team management concern than a hiring problem in my opinion.

The key question is whether your experience is relevant to the actual work required.

Should Developers Include Portfolios and GitHub Projects?

If you have an online portfolio, give recruiters a reason to open it.

Instead of only adding a link, mention specific projects and the results you achieved:

what you built,
what problem it solved,
what technologies you used,
and what impact it had.

Regarding open-source contributions, many employers do value them, especially in tech. However, not contributing to open source is not necessarily a blocker.

If you prefer not to share your code publicly, that’s completely valid. Just be prepared to discuss your reasoning and demonstrate your skills in other ways during interviews.

About Leo Johansson-Stockford

Leo is an experienced recruiter who has worked across various industries and companies in Finland. You will have the chance to see how recruiters actually review CVs, what they pay attention to, and what can be improved to increase your chances of getting an interview.

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