GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol for CV writing

The verdict

Dead heat: 93 each

Same 12 CV writing tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Untangle the dates

Put this work history into correct reverse-chronological CV order and flag anything a recruiter will query: Greggs, team member, 2016-2018; Openreach, trainee engineer, Jan 2021-present; B&Q, weekend supervisor, 2017-2019; self-employed handyman, 2019-2021 'on and off'. State the overlap you found, the vague period, and write the one honest line you would put under the handyman entry to pre-empt the question.

GPT-5.3-Codex9/10

Here’s the **correct reverse-chronological order** for your CV:

1. **Openreach** – Trainee Engineer *(Jan 2021–Present)*  
2. **Self-employed Handyman** *(2019–2021, on and off)*  
3. **B&Q** – Weekend Supervisor *(2017–2019)*  
4. **Greggs** – Team Member *(2016–2018)*  

### What a recruiter will likely query

- **Overlap 1:** **Greggs (2016–2018)** and **B&Q (2017–2019)** overlap in **2017–2018**.  
  - Likely fine if one/both were part-time or weekend work, but they may ask.

- **Overlap 2:** **B&Q (2017–2019)** and **Handyman (2019–2021)*…

GPT-5.6 Sol8/10

## Work history — reverse chronological order

- **Openreach — Trainee Engineer** | **Jan 2021–Present**
- **Self-employed — Handyman** | **2019–2021**
  - *Completed ad hoc handyman jobs on a self-employed basis, with periods of inactivity, between 2019 and 2021.*
- **B&Q — Weekend Supervisor** | **2017–2019**
- **Greggs — Team Member** | **2016–2018**

## Points a recruiter may query

- **Overlaps:**  
  - Greggs and B&Q overlap during **2017–2018**.  
  - B&Q and handyman work may overlap in **2019**.  
  - Handyman work may overlap with Ope…

Task by task

Task	GPT-5.3-Codex	GPT-5.6 Sol
Profile that mirrors the ad	9	9
Untangle the dates	9	8
Duties into achievements	9	10
Thirty years onto two pages	9	8
Profile without the wallpaper	10	10
First CV, empty history	9	9
Back after eight years	9	10
Do the hobbies earn their line?	9	9
Fix the format	10	10
The Excel question	9	9
Strip the header	9	9
Refuse the invented job	10	10

Full receipts: GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5.6 Sol · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for CV writing: GPT-5.3-Codex or GPT-5.6 Sol?

They tied at 93/100 on our CV writing suite — for this job, pick on price or the product you already use.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published CV writing tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More CV writing head-to-heads: GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.5 · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.3-Codex · Claude Fable 5 vs GPT-5.3-Codex · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Terra · Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.3-Codex

Full ranking: Best AI for CV writing · model pages: GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5.6 Sol