The CV you send a client says as much about your agency as it does about the candidate. A consistent, well presented CV builds trust, protects your candidate relationships and makes your shortlist easier to read. This guide covers what CV branding and redaction mean, why they matter, and the practical rules most agencies follow.
What branding means
Branding a CV means presenting it in a consistent agency format before it goes to a client. That usually includes your agency logo and colours, a standard layout, a short consultant summary of why the candidate fits, and consistent fonts and headings. The candidate's experience and achievements stay as they are. The goal is presentation, not rewriting someone's career.
Why branding matters
- It makes your shortlists look professional and consistent, whoever on the team sends them.
- It makes CVs easier for busy hiring managers to compare side by side.
- It reinforces that the candidate came through your agency.
- A consultant summary at the top lets you explain fit in a way a raw CV cannot.
What redaction means
Redaction means removing information from the CV before it is shared. The most common reason is to remove the candidate's direct contact details, so the client contacts the candidate through you. Redaction also protects candidate privacy by sharing only what the client needs at that stage.
What to remove
Most agencies remove the following before a first submission:
- Personal phone numbers and email addresses.
- Home address, often leaving only the suburb or city.
- Links to personal social profiles, unless relevant to the role.
- Any personal information the role does not require, such as date of birth.
Some agencies also remove the candidate's current employer name at an early stage when the candidate has asked for confidentiality. Always ask the candidate what they are comfortable sharing.
What to keep
Redaction should never remove the information a client needs to assess the candidate. Keep job titles, dates, responsibilities, achievements, qualifications and skills. Removing too much makes the CV harder to read and can create the impression you are hiding something.
Get consent first
Before you send any CV to a client, confirm the candidate is happy for you to represent them for that specific role. This protects the candidate, avoids duplicate submissions from different agencies and protects your relationship with the client. Record the consent against the candidate and the job.
Keep it accurate
Formatting a CV is not the same as editing it. Never change dates, titles or achievements, and never add skills the candidate has not claimed. If you think the CV could be stronger, suggest changes to the candidate and let them approve them. Accuracy protects everyone, including your agency's reputation.
Consistency across the team
The biggest problem with manual formatting is inconsistency. Each consultant does it slightly differently, and redaction mistakes happen when someone is in a hurry. A few habits help:
- Use one agreed template for the whole agency.
- Write a short standard for what is removed and what is kept.
- Check every CV before it goes out, especially the header and footer where contact details hide.
- Keep both the original and the formatted version against the candidate record.
Save time with automation
Formatting and redacting CVs by hand takes a surprising amount of time across a team, and it is easy to miss a phone number buried in a footer. Software that rebrands CVs into your template and redacts contact details automatically saves time and reduces mistakes, while leaving consultants in control of the final version.
Writing a strong consultant summary
The consultant summary at the top of a branded CV is your chance to add value a raw CV cannot. Keep it short, a few lines or a handful of bullet points. Cover why this candidate fits this specific role, their key strengths against the brief, their availability and notice period, and their salary expectations if the client has asked for them. Avoid repeating what is already in the CV. Write it for a hiring manager who has two minutes between meetings.
Formatting tips that help hiring managers
- Use clear headings so experience, education and skills are easy to find.
- Keep fonts and spacing consistent and readable on screen.
- Put the most recent role first and make dates easy to scan.
- Save and send in a format the client can open reliably, usually PDF.
- Name files consistently, for example with the candidate's first name, the role and your agency name.
Handling resubmissions
When a candidate is put forward for a second role at the same client, check whether their details or preferences have changed and update the CV before sending. Note the new submission against the candidate and the job so there is no confusion about which role they were represented for.
How Klose Recruit helps
Klose Recruit rebrands every CV with your agency's look and redacts candidate contact details automatically, so CVs are ready to send to clients in a couple of clicks. Both versions are stored against the candidate, and submissions are tracked on the pipeline. See how it fits into the ATS and CRM for recruitment agencies.
The takeaway
Brand every CV consistently, redact contact details and anything the client does not need, keep the substance accurate, get consent before every submission and use one standard across the team. Your shortlists will look sharper and your candidates will trust you more.