Blind CVs in one click
Anonymise CVs Automatically: Blind CVs Your Way
Remove any candidate or company information from a CV with your own anonymisation templates. Hide employer names, or replace them with industry descriptions written from the context of each role.
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How CV anonymisation works
- 1
Set your rules
We build an anonymisation template with you: which candidate details to remove, and whether company names are hidden or replaced with industry descriptions.
- 2
Upload the CV
Upload a PDF, Word file, image or LinkedIn profile as usual. CVFormatter extracts the content and applies your anonymisation rules automatically.
- 3
Send the blind CV
Download the anonymised CV in your branded template as Word or PDF, or share it by secure weblink. The full CV stays in your history for later.
Anonymise exactly what you need to
Every client and every search is different, so anonymisation isn't one-size-fits-all. Create as many anonymisation templates as you need.
Candidate details
Remove names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal identifiers.
Company names hidden
Strip employer names from the work history when the employer itself would identify the candidate.
Company names → industry descriptions
Replace employer names with descriptions such as “global investment bank”, generated from the company name, job title, organisation description and responsibilities.
Unique templates per client
Keep a different anonymisation template for each client, market or type of search, and switch in one click.
Still on-brand
Blind CVs come out in your agency's own branded template, so they look as polished as any other CV you send.
Branded templatesReveal when ready
The original CV stays in your history, so you can send the full version once the client wants to meet the candidate.
Example: anonymising a work history
Company names can be replaced with context-aware industry descriptions, so the client still understands the candidate's background.
| Original CV | Anonymised CV |
|---|---|
| Jane Example · jane@example.com · +44 7700 900000 | Candidate 2041 |
| Head of Treasury, Northbridge Capital Bank | Head of Treasury, International commercial bank |
| Finance Manager, Harlow & Finch Retail Ltd | Finance Manager, UK multi-site retailer |
| Analyst, Brightline Analytics (Series B start-up) | Analyst, Venture-backed data analytics company |
Illustrative example using fictional names. Your anonymisation template decides exactly what is removed or replaced.
What is a blind CV?
A blind (or anonymised) CV is a candidate's CV with identifying information removed. Recruiters use them to protect candidates in confidential searches, to stop clients approaching candidates directly before an introduction is agreed, and to support fairer, more inclusive shortlisting where hiring managers judge skills and experience rather than names or backgrounds.
Anonymising a CV by hand is slow and risky. It is easy to miss an email address in a footer or a former employer that gives the candidate away. CVFormatter applies your anonymisation rules to every CV automatically, in your agency's branded template.
More than redaction: context-aware company descriptions
Simply deleting employer names can leave a CV hard to read: the client loses the sense of where the candidate has worked. CVFormatter can instead replace each company name with an industry description generated from the context, including the company name, the job title, any organisation description and the responsibilities listed for the role.
So a role at a named bank becomes a role at an “international commercial bank”, and a named retailer becomes a “UK multi-site retailer”. The client understands the candidate's background without being able to identify them.
When agencies use anonymised CVs
- Confidential executive searches, where candidates are currently employed and discretion is essential.
- Long-list and market-mapping stages, before the client has agreed terms or the candidate has agreed to be introduced.
- Inclusive hiring programmes, where clients ask for blind shortlists to reduce bias.
- Public sector and government clients, which often require anonymised applications as standard.
Customer story
How a global search team gets candidate profiles to clients in record time
“CVFormatter has really changed the game for how we produce profiles for positions that we're working on.”
Confidential profiles have to be fast as well as discreet. Here is how one global search director gets profiles to clients in record time.
The challenge
Producing candidate profiles for live search assignments meant hours of manual CV formatting, admin work that took consultants away from candidates and clients.
What changed
Rachael's team found the implementation simple, with quick answers from the CVFormatter team whenever questions came up. She now uses CVFormatter several times a day to produce profiles for the positions her team is working on.
The result
The team no longer loses hours to formatting. As Rachael puts it: “CV Formatter is helping us quickly turn around profiles to be able to get these out to clients in record time.” That frees consultants for the core work of search.
CV anonymisation FAQs
- What information can CVFormatter anonymise?
- Any candidate or company information you choose: names, contact details, addresses and other personal identifiers, as well as employer names.
- Can company names be replaced rather than deleted?
- Yes. Company names can be hidden, or replaced with industry descriptions generated from the context, such as the company name, job title, organisation description and job responsibilities.
- Can we use different anonymisation rules for different clients?
- Yes. You can set up unique anonymisation templates and choose the right one for each client or search.
- Can we still send the full CV later?
- Yes. The original CV stays in your history, so you can send the full version whenever the client is ready.
- Are anonymised CVs still branded?
- Yes. Blind CVs are produced in your agency's branded template, as Word or PDF, or shared via secure weblink.
Send your first blind CV today
Your first 5 CVs are free, and we set up your first branded template at no cost, including your anonymisation rules.
Try blind CVs free