Avoid these 7 common CV mistakes
Trying to make a strong first impression can be exceptionally difficult and quite often, great candidates fall at the first job hunting hurdle by making silly mistakes on their CV.
We’ve put together a list of the most common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them.
1) Spelling and grammar mistakes. Whether you proofread it yourself, or get somebody else to, checking over your CV from start to finish can be the difference between being accepted and being rejected.
2) Missing job history. There was a unanimous ‘no’ vote for gaps or inconsistency in career history. If a recruiter has the time they will ask you about it, but make sure there are no gaps. This includes highlighting any education or special courses or being upfront in an interview about any time away due to personal reasons.
3) Irrelevant information. If the CV isn’t tailored to the role on the application, this is a big turn off for recruiters. You will most likely have to create different CVs for different roles.
4) Not attaching your CV. Self-explanatory, folks. Gmail has a feature to help rectify this; it displays a reminder if your email mentions an attachment, but there is nothing actually attached. Similarly, the ‘Undo Send’ function lets you cancel an email for up to 30 seconds after pressing send. Helpful for when you accidentally send an unfinished email
5) Writing a novel and not a CV. Your CV is not supposed to be a novel – if the employer is not convinced after two pages; it’s likely they’ll not be persuaded in the next four. Keep it concise and remember less is often more.
6) Not making your CV your own. If you download a template, make sure that all the irrelevant sections are removed, headings filled in with your own information, and that it is writing in the language of the country you are applying to, e.g. American English for the US, UK English for a role in the UK.
7) Adding common knowledge skills. If you write Microsoft Word or PowerPoint on a CV nowadays, most employers will already expect you to have those skills, save space and try adding any relevant, truthful advanced skills you may have.