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What a “Normal” Job Posting and a “Normal” CV Look Like for the Serbian Market
The Serbian job market already has an unspoken standard. It’s not about perfect wording or “doing it the European way”. It’s about clarity, respect for time, and a basic level of professionalism. Below is what a job posting and a CV look like today if you actually want them to work.
Table of Contents
What the Serbian market considers normal in 2025–2026
Right now, Serbia is in a functional balance:
- the market is still growing thanks to foreign companies and relocation
- candidates have become more selective
- employers stopped reading long, overloaded texts
According to LinkedIn Economic Graph and local HR reports, the average time spent reviewing a job posting is 30–60 seconds, a CV 6–8 seconds. If nothing is clear in that time, no one keeps reading.
A normal job posting: what it includes
A normal job posting is not a sales pitch. It’s more like an instruction manual for candidates.
What it must include:
- a clear job title without creative fantasies
- city or work format (office, hybrid, remote)
- a salary range or an honest explanation of what it depends on
- 5–7 real responsibilities, not abstractions
- requirements that are actually needed, not “nice to have someday”
- a clear way to apply and an expected response timeline
What counts as a red flag:
- “young and dynamic team”
- “salary discussed after the interview” with no context
- a list of 25 requirements for one role
- no indication of the working language
On the Serbian market, job postings work best when employers set boundaries upfront. This isn’t seen as being rigid. It’s seen as respect.
A normal CV: not a biography, but a working document
A CV is a filtering tool, not a life story.
What it looks like:
- 1–2 pages, no more
- a clear title with your role
- a short summary of 3–4 lines
- experience written as “what you did and what result it led to”
- skills you actually have
- the CV language matches the job posting language
What doesn’t work:
- vacation photos
- listing responsibilities without results
- one universal CV “for all jobs”
- phrases like “stress-resistant” or “fast learner” without examples
In Serbia, it’s completely normal for a CV to be simple and even a bit dry. Clarity is valued more than self-promotion.
Where the “job posting ↔ candidate” connection breaks most often
The most common problems we see every day:
- the job posting is abstract, the CV is specific, and they don’t match
- the employer is looking for one thing but describes another
- the candidate didn’t adapt the CV to the market or language
- both sides hope to “discuss it on a call” that never happens
The Serbian market is no longer “young”. It doesn’t guess. It selects.
Why “normal” wins right now
In 2026, the winners aren’t the most creative ones, but the clearest ones.
- a clear job posting gets more relevant applications
- a clear CV reaches interviews faster
- both sides save time and energy
This is especially important for foreign-speaking candidates and international teams, where any misunderstanding is expensive.
Conclusion
A normal job posting and a normal CV are not a compromise and not a minimum.
They are the working standard of the Serbian market right now.
If you fit into it, that’s when the real conversation about experience, money, and growth begins.
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