CV and recruitment consultants reveal the seven deadly sins that you should avoid when compiling a CV - check them out!
1. Including things you shouldn't
Photos - unless you are a model, actor, actress or flight attendant
Any sort of failure - be it exam, business or marriage
Salary information - this can only be used to reject your application. If an advertisement specifically requests salary information, put it in your cover letter
Your weight, height, political persuasion, state of health, state of your marriage, or any other personal information that is irrelevant to your application
Reasons for leaving previous jobs - if an interviewer wants to know, they will ask
Mentioning activities or interests that suggest lethargy, or vices, such as watching TV and spending time at the pub
Negative comments about a previous employer or role - keep it positive
Letters after your name - subsequent sections offer ample opportunity to show off your achievements
Unexplained gaps in your career history - this only raises questions about what you were doing
References - it is taken for granted that you have these, so don't include them unless specifically asked; they'll be taken up later
2. Leaving out things you should include
A results-orientated CV that really makes a recruiter want to invite you to that all-important interview
Your date of birth - some people do this in the belief that, if they include it, employers might consider them too old. Leaving it out, however, makes it look more of an issue, and the employer will obviously spot it
Your email address in the body of the CV
3. Stretching the truth
Overstating your abilities - don't describe a particular skill as 'excellent' when you should be putting something like 'good working knowledge'. Candidates often overstate their capablities in a bid to impress, which can make them look silly at interview.
4. Acting the comedian
Use humour only if you can reliably predict who the reader is likely to be and how they'll react - remember that your CV may well be copied to many colleagues of the initial contact.
5. Long lists
Too many people mistake the CV for a job description of your duties or job titles, with no mention of the outcome or benefit to the company. You need to provide specific examples of how the organisation benefited from your performance. Apply the FAB factor:
Feature: what did you do?
Analysis: what was the scope? For example, how large was your team or budget or territory?
Benefit: what was the benefit to your company?
6. Poor presentation
Avoid front covers, coloured paper and fancy bindings
Don't send out poor-quality photocopies of your CV - they give the impression that you are mailing your CV en masse and are not too bothered who employs you
Don't use large blocks of text and paragraphs that make your CV too difficult to read. A CV will be scanned for approximately 30 seconds. Any longer and the recruiter will switch off
7. Typos!
There is no excuse for not using the spellchecker, but be warned - Microsoft's spellchecker uses American English so watch out for 'liase' instead of 'liaise' and all those 'organizational' skills when they should be 'organisational' skills.
