Free executive assistant CV checker · by Lily Shippen, EA recruiter
The free executive assistant CV checker
Written by Lily Shippen, founder of the Lily Shippen EA, PA and chief of staff recruitment agency. Thirteen years of shortlisting, tens of thousands of CVs read, and every rule on this page is one I use at my own desk. Who I am
Drop your CV in below, or paste the text, and it's marked out of 100 the way I mark one when I shortlist: personality, proof, content, trust and format, 20 points each, with a note on every dimension and the three changes that would move your score most. It takes about twenty seconds, it's free, and nothing is stored. A typical first draft scores between 30 and 45, and that isn't a verdict on you. A CV written to my standard scores 75 or more.
Drop your CV here
PDF, Word (.docx) or plain text · or click to choose · or paste below
FREE · NOTHING STORED · ABOUT TWENTY SECONDS
What the checker marks
The five dimensions are the five things I read for when I decide whether an executive assistant CV goes on a shortlist, and I marked real CVs by hand to calibrate it, so the scores are mine rather than a formula's, and they're marked separately because most CVs are strong on one or two and weak on the rest, with a different fix for each.
- Personality asks whether a reader could tell you apart from the next applicant, because a profile that would still be true with someone else's name on it scores low here, however polished it is.
- Proof is metrics and evidence, so the checker counts the bullets that carry a budget, a headcount, a percentage, a volume or a timescale against the ones that don't.
- Content is the right things in the right order, meaning achievements before duties, the most recent role given the most space, and the reason you moved between roles.
- Trust is how much responsibility the CV shows you were given, through decisions made without asking, confidential matters held and things built that outlasted you, and a junior EA can score highly here.
- Format is whether a person and a piece of software can both read it in eight seconds, which means a single column, standard headings, contact details at the top, consistent tenses, and a length that follows the content rather than a page count.
How to read your score
Under 45 is a first draft, where the CV describes a job rather than a person and almost every line could be tightened, while from 45 to 65 the structure is there and the evidence is missing, so the fixes are usually figures, and from 65 to 80 the CV is competitive and the notes will point at one or two dimensions. Above 80 it's written to a recruiter's standard and the job is keeping it that way, and the three fixes at the bottom of the result are the changes that would move your score most, in order, each one something you can do this evening.
If you'd rather have it written than fix it yourself, Margot is my screening interview written down: she asks you what I'd ask across the desk and writes the CV from your answers, then marks it with this same checker. The interview is £39, paid once, and it keeps going for up to three more rounds until the CV scores 80.
What the checker does not do
It doesn't store your CV, because the text is sent to the scorer, marked and shown back to you without anything being written anywhere, and it doesn't read photographs, graphics or scanned PDFs, so if your CV is an image, paste the text instead. It doesn't know which job you're applying for, so it marks against the standard of the role you hold, and it's deliberately tough, which means a score of 60 from this checker is a CV that would be shortlisted for many roles.
Common questions
Is the executive assistant CV checker free?
Yes, because there's no account, no email and no payment, so you drop the file or paste the text and the score comes back in about twenty seconds, and the paid product is separate, with Margot interviewing you and writing the CV only if you choose to.
Is my CV stored?
No, because the text is sent to the scorer, marked and shown back to you, with nothing written to a database and nothing kept after the page closes.
What is a good score on the CV checker?
A typical first draft scores between 30 and 45, a competitive CV scores 65 to 80 and above 80 is written to a recruiter's standard, but the checker is deliberately tough, so a 60 here is a CV that would be shortlisted for many roles.
Does the checker work for personal assistant and chief of staff CVs?
Yes, because it marks against the standard of the role you hold, adapts its language for chief of staff and very senior CVs, and reads transferable evidence generously for career changers who haven't held the EA title.
Lily Shippen
FOUNDER, LILY SHIPPEN, EA, PA AND CHIEF OF STAFF RECRUITMENT · THIRTEEN YEARS PLACING EAS
Lily has read tens of thousands of EA CVs and shortlisted the ones that worked. Margot is her screening interview, written down. About Lily and this site