Nothing is more important while job hunting than having a CV that will capture the intrigue of a potential employer. Your CV is your first impression, and your chance to impress the reader, and earn yourself an interview. If you make mistakes in your CV it could cost you the chance of that all important interview.
When writing our own CV’s we always check spelling and grammar, that is just a given as we all know how unprofessional spelling mistakes and bad grammar can make us look. But it goes deeper than that, there are many other mistakes that we can easily make and not realise just how damaging they can be.
Here are 6 mistakes that are very common and can prevent you from getting an interview.
Blah Blah Blah
It’s important that in your CV you expose as many talents and skills as you can. This is your opportunity to show off what you can do. However, too much information can actually go against you. When employers are recruiting, they spend hours searching through hundreds of CV’s. If your CV is in that pile and has bundles of information and nothing jumps out, then it is likely never going to be read in full.
Bullet points and short sentences work best. This makes your CV an easy read and your skills can be easily found. A good test for you to do is to pick up your CV and scan over it and see what jumps out.
IloveJustinBeiber@gmail.com
Is the email you have on your CV a professional looking email? We all have silly emails from when we was 14 or so, and a lot of the time these email address are not appropriate for your CV. This can be very off putting for an employer. The best type of email to have is simply your full name, for example JoeBloggs@Gmail.com.
So go get yourself a professional looking email now before you go sending out that CV.
Relying on a spell checker
Spell checkers have come a long way and are great at helping us spell correctly, and pick up on those mistakes we overlook. You need to be careful here, and not rely on the spell checker alone.
Sometimes spellings are correct, but wrong in the context it is in. For example, the words Data and Base are both correct spellings, but if you are talking about a Database then the wrong spelling of data base will not be picked up. The same goes with Your and You’re, both correct spellings but used wrong and you will look unprofessional.
Its important that you read your CV thoroughly to try and spot any mistakes. We don’t always see our own mistakes and it is a great idea to get a friend to proof read it for you and see if they spot anything. You will kick yourself if you send out your CV and then notice a mistake.
CV Buzz Words
When reading hundreds of CVs looking for that perfect person, it can become annoying hearing the same old stuff. “a great team player” or “eager to learn” and so on. These statements might well be true to you, and you may thing these things are a good quality to have. The problem is they are generic, they make you the same as the next candidate. You need to use something new, or just stick to actual miserable skills that you have. An employer will be happier to hear the skills you have using systems they use than you are “excited to work for such a great company” or you are very “Dedicated and hard working”. Let’s sell the skills and experience you have that will make you a valued employee.
Unrelated Information
Your CV is there to sell you to the employer. You want your CV to make them want to know more and to meet you. You need to let them know you have the skills and experience to do the job they want you for. So if you are going for a sales job, then you don’t need to tell them about the course in writing you did.
Don’t tell them about skills that you don’t need in the job you are applying for. It just takes up valuable space that can be used to tell them of skills they are actually interested in.
Using fancy fonts
Your CV should be presented in a professional and well-structured and easy to read format. It will help to show you are a professional and conscience of portraying yourself that way. Use your skills to impress them, not fancy fonts, love hearts and bright distracting colours.
If however, you are applying for a job that demands a creative flair then having a CV that can demonstrate that might be an advantage. Just be careful not to overdo it, keep it stylish and easy to read.
At Recruitment Avenue we will always double check your CV before passing it to an employer, and will always tell you if it needs changes. We want you to do well, and are always willing to help you in any way we can. Register with us today, and we can help you with your CV.