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Often, your CV is your one shot of impressing a recruiter and securing
you an interview for a job you really want. So it’s important that you
get it absolutely right.
Unfortunately though, talk to any recruiter and they’ll tell you how
many potentially good candidates fall at the first job hunting hurdle by
making silly but fatal mistakes on their CV.
The 10 most common CV mistakes, and how to avoid
them
To help ensure you don’t make any little – but costly – errors, we look
at 10 of the biggest CV mistakes, and explain how you can avoid them.
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1) Including irrelevant personal information
On average, recruiters spend just 6 seconds looking at CVs, so you don’t
want to clog yours up with irrelevant information that’s not going to
help your application – and may cause them to miss the really juicy
contents. So, unless it’s directly relevant to the position you’re
applying for, leave out details like your religion, political
preferences, height, weight and the story about the time you met Daniel
Craig.
2) Hiding important information
Just as you need to declutter your CV by leaving out anything
irrelevant, it’s vital to highlight the key points that may help swing
an interview for a particular job. So think about the design of your CV
and ways you can bring important details to the fore, for example by
putting key achievements in bullet points or bolding your previous job
titles.
3) Being too vague
Using phrases like ‘several’, ‘a few’ and ‘numerous’ can come across as
too vague on a CV. So if you spent three years working on a project, say
so. Or if you exceeded a sales target, include how much it was by. And
if you say you delivered more than a client was expecting, briefly
explain how. If you’re too vague it can seem like at best you’re
exaggerating, at worst making something up completely.
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4) Mysterious gaps in employment
If for any reason you’ve taken a break for employment – whether it’s for
travel, study, volunteering, redundancy or simply to care for your child
– explain it. If you don’t, recruiter may jump to their own, less
flattering conclusions and pass your CV over without a second thought.
5) Lying or manipulation of the truth
While your CV should absolutely be the best, shiny version of you and
your experiences, making up qualifications, experiences or achievements
will invalidate any of your real, hard won successes. Recruiters are on
the lookout for anything that seems out of place, including salaries and
job titles (and are often expert at spotting them), so be honest and
ensure that you give your real attributes a fair chance of getting you
the job you want.
6) Throwing in the kitchen sink
Your CV should be as short as it possibly can, while delivering the
information a recruiter is looking for. Recruiters are very busy people,
and they don’t have time to wade through pages of long winded
explanations of how you learned the value of work on a paper round. So
stick to two pages at a maximum, and take your work experience back as
far as is relevant. Likewise your qualifications – unless it’s relevant,
resist the temptation to list every GCSE subject or course taken over
the past 20 years.
7) Unnecessarily elaborate design
These days, the chances are your CV is going to be judged on a screen.
So don’t take the opportunity to play with fancy fonts and colours –
stick to typefaces that are screen friendly (like Ariel, Times New Roman
or Verdana) and use a font size of 10 or 12 for body copy, and slightly
larger for subheads. If you’re sending it as an attachment, use Word.
And avoid backgrounds and ornate borders. Let your experiences and
achievements be the star.
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8) A meaningless introduction
If you include an introduction in your CV, make sure it’s to the point,
and accurately sums up the key qualities the recruiter is looking for.
Avoid meaningless phrases like ‘Dynamic, results-oriented, driven,
personable team player’ and instead clearly outline your key
qualification for the role. For example, ‘Part time sales manager with
16 years’ experience in the commercial sector’. If a recruiter looks at
one thing on your CV, it could well be your introduction so ensure it
tells them as much as possible.
9) Including references
You’ve little enough space on your CV to ensure you are able to portray
yourself as the full package, so don’t waste any with lengthy
references. Most recruiters don’t expect them, and a simple note saying
‘References available on request’ is enough. If a job advert
specifically requests references, you can include them on a separate
sheet.
10) Poor spelling and grammar
You’ve heard the rhyme about the nail that lost the war? In a similar
vein, one silly spelling mistake can kill an otherwise perfect CV. So
before you send your CV out, use spell check and then proofread it
thoroughly. If you’re not 100% confident in your grammar, ask a friend
to check it over for you.
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