Top ten mistakes on your CV
- Spelling Errors, Typos and Poor Grammar
- Too Duty-Oriented
- Inaccurate Dates or None at All
- Inaccurate or Missing Contact Information
- Poor Formatting
- Functional CVs
Poor grammar and poor spelling really can put some clients off seeing a candidate, it can show a lack of attention to detail, don’t forget this is the first impression of you’re the client and the recruiter sees. When you have finished the CV leave it until the next day, read it again with a view to looking carefully at every phrase and word, remember the spell check will not always bring up an incorrect worm, I mean word, see how easy it is.
Some CV’s just detail almost “generic job descriptions and duties”, when you should be highlighting your successes and achievements. If you were an employer what would rather see on the CV, “I was a Sales Manager in charge of 20 staff” or “As a Sales Manager I over achieved budget and targets by 45% for 2005/6 by use of innovative sales and marketing strategy delivered by a highly motivated team developed by myself.
Gaps in employment should be clearly logged and accurate detail of dates to and from for each should be clearly marked on your CV, if you can’t remember what the dates were for older positions from the past, you could try to contact the company to try and find out. This is a very good reason to ensure that you keep your CV up to date at the time of the job change and you should always have the right information.
Make sure that you have the very best contact details on your CV, if you are out all day and work in a bar at night you may not pick messages up at home, so leave your mobile number, and make sure the number is your latest one. Many people have 2 or 3 phones so make sure you look at the messages left on the mobile and respond accordingly, always phone back, you may not want the position on offer but the recruiter may have any number of other potential offers they are dealing with.
Do not use fancy formatting, as this can often lead to real problems when the recruiter tries to use the CV to send to the client. Let me explain what happens, when the recruiter has spoken to you and you say you are interested in having your CV put forward, they “format” your CV to remove any direct contact details you have on the CV and cut and paste the rest of the CV onto a Headed format of their own. If the formatting is in lots of different fonts and sizes with graphics and pictures it can take a lot of time to standardise the view. So the answer is to keep it simple, make your CV easy to use.
You should always try to avoid a “standard” CV, one size will never fit all, remember what a CV is designed to do, its sole purpose is to get you through to an interview, be prepared to redesign the achievements of each position you held to meet the individual job requirements of the specific position you are applying for. It maybe that your CV as a Facilities Manager, shows all of your experience, but doesn’t bring out your project management skills, which happen to be essential to the new job you are applying for. It would mean adjusting your CV to emphasize these skills to ensure you get through to the selection phase for interview.
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