6/10 people don’t feel comfortable writing a CV. As your first opportunity to impress a potential employer, it’s easy to see how a hastily put together CV can lead to missed opportunities.
But what specific slip-ups should you try and avoid? Here’s the most common mistakes jobseekers make when trying to nail the perfect role:
Wildly Unproven Claims
4/5 CVs have embellished facts on them, and yet they still do the job of securing an interview. But pushing this too far is easily recognisable, and highly unadvised. Don’t lie on your CV, because when it’s revealed that you’re not actually capable of the position, you’ll leave a much more sour impression than simply not being qualified.
You only need to look to Sudip Sarker, the recently outed surgeon who lied about 45 keyhole surgeries to land an £84,000-a-year job, to see that falsifying info rarely leads to success.
HUGE Chunks of Text
It’s common knowledge that a CV shouldn’t be overly long – three pages at the very max, and ideally two. Writing too much means your achievements won’t stand out, and whoever is reading your CV will skim over the key info. You’re competing against lots of other CVs, so make it easy!
Weird, Wacky Graphics
Keep it simple. Black and white, consistent font, bold subheadings – three tried-and-tested rules to live by when writing a CV. Some media jobs might mean a quirky CV will be beneficial, but make sure to understand the context before investing time in design.
Incorrect Spelling
It sounds basic, but this is one of the most common issue amongst recruiters. No matter what industry, lazy spelling mistakes on a CV will come across like the applicant has little interest in the role.
Failing to Consider the Reader
Creating a good CV takes time, but it’s worth it. On average, employers can receive between 100 – 300 CVs for each role, and only a small handful of these will be called in for an interview.
Make sure you get it right, and guarantee yourself success.