How do you know your CV is working?

 

The job market is currently candidate rich.  So, Recruiters and hiring managers can afford to be really picky when selecting CV’s.

They will decide which CV goes in to the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ pile in less than 60 seconds!!

Here are 10 of the most common mistakes people make on their CV’s which can lead them landing in the ‘no pile’.   How many do you recognise?

 

1. Not tailoring the CV to job.   Gone are the days when you just had one generic CV which you sent out to everyone.  Employers are looking for you to demonstrate evidence of how you match their requirements.

 

2.  Spelling and grammar mistakes.  Spelling and grammar mistakes will jump out to ‘new eyes’ and will often be enough to get you rejected.  Make sure you get someone else to proof read your CV before you sent it.

 

3.  Writing a list of duties.  Employers are looking for evidence of your what you have done, how you did it and what value you can offer.  The best way to do this is by writing achievement statements, not lists of duties.

 

4.  Using on line CV Templates.  The web and MS Office is full of fancy CV Templates, with block text, borders, colours and more.  This is visually distracting and makes it more challenging to read.  Keep It Simple!

 

5.  Story Telling.  Your CV should be a snap shot advertising who you are and what you offer.  Writing huge chunks of text full of narrative is overwhelming and too hard to read, so use bullet points to break up text.

 

6.  Writing lots of pages.  Your CV should be no more than 2 pages – no exception!  There is no reason to tell your life story in your CV.  Your Career summary should not go back further than 10 years.  Keep it relevant.

 

7.  Poor presentation.  How your CV looks and first impressions count.  So, in line with keeping it simple, avoid using multiple fonts and fancy formats and make sure it’s easy for your audience to navigate.

 

8.  Including personal information.  This can really show CV inexperience and can lead to discrimination.  Never include any personal information such as your age, date of birth, Nationality, family details or Ethnicity.

 

9.  Inappropriate email addresses.  Your email address may say more about you than you realise! Create a professional email address dedicated to your job searching.

 

10. Including a photo.  It is no longer acceptable to attach a photo to your CV as it can easily lead to discrimination and will make your CV (and you) out of date.

 

If you would like help with your CV, contact me about my CV Support Service.