It's
very easy to make mistakes on your CV and extremely difficult to repair the
damage after an employer has already seen it. It is imperative that you prevent
these mistakes whether you are writing your first CV or revising it for a new
job search. The 10 biggest CV mistakes and how to avoid them are as follows:
1.
Do Not Head Your CV ‘Curriculum
Vitae’.
It should be quite obvious what your CV is without
giving it a title; if it’s not then I would suggest that you have a problem.
Start with your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Very
often your CV will get printed off and stapled together, so don’t put your
contact details at the bottom of the last page. The fact that the page looks
like a CV will do the rest.
2.
Making Your CV Too Long or Too
Short
There are no real rules regarding CV length,
however that doesn’t mean you should start sending out 5 page CV’s. In general
you should limit yourself to a maximum of two or three pages depending on
experience. At the same time don’t cut the meat out of your CV by sticking to
one page.
3.
Punctuation and Spelling Mistakes
Your CV needs to be grammatically perfect. If it
isn’t, employers and recruiters will read between the lines and draw
unfavourable conclusions about you, like “This person clearly doesn’t care” or
“This person can’t spell”.
4.
Job History That Doesn’t Match
The Job Your Applying For
All employers want to see a CV specifically for
them; they expect you to clearly show how and why you fit the position in a
specific organisation. Your key achievements should match many of the job
requirements in the position you’re applying for.
5.
Highlighting Tasks Instead of
Achievements
It is very easy to note tasks after tasks you
completed whilst in a job but what employers are really looking for is your
achievements, they want to see achievement after achievement, make your
achievements stand out first and then put in the tasks you also completed.
6.
Poor Layout
If you’re CV has a poor
layout it could be put straight in the bin. Some CV’s are scanned in less than
3 seconds, so it needs to be pleasing to the eye and easy to read. Don’t cram
in too much information in a small font, your font should be no smaller than 10
but also make sure it isn’t too spaced out. Finally make sure your most recent
job is first and the job before that second and so on.
7. An Outdated CV Will Make You Look
Obsolete
Your CV should be updated
for every position you apply for. Be sure to update your skills and work history;
make sure your skills set is current and tailor your CV to the job you’re
applying for.
8. Some Things Are Best Left Off
Your CV
Don’t list your hobbies, no
one cares what your hobbies are, your CV is not your Facebook profile. Don’t put
anything on your CV that’s irrelevant to your job. If it’s not relevant then it’s
a waste of space and a waste of time.
9. Don’t Write Your CV In The First
Or Third Person
It’s fine to write in
first person in your opening statement, but the rest of your resume should be
in bullet points. Never write in the third person as everyone knows you’re the
one writing the CV.
10. Professional Email Account
Don’t include email
addresses or websites that have the potential to reveal controversial or
inappropriate personal information, Make a new one. It takes minutes and it’s
free.
Written by Liam Oakes
Liam is the Candidate Manager at
Aaron Wallis and has been with the company for 2 years after having a career
with the RAF; Liam has helped hundreds of Sales Professionals secure a new
Sales role and ensures that Aaron Wallis runs smoothly.
