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5 Biggest CV Mistakes |
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I am recruiting. I have entered the dangerous minefield that can be directly recruiting staff. I have placed my advert for an administrator for my Southampton branch in the local paper and on the local job board. Some terrible CVs followed. |
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| Author: Louisa Anderson |
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• Dodgy photos – As I look at the offending CV I try to picture the person who sent it putting it together. All the relevant information? Check. Laid out right? Check. Now I all I need is a picture. Where’s that picture taken 10 years ago at the Christmas party where I look great? Check. Not a good idea. Pictures taken in the 80s, perm, shoulder pads and all does not fool anyone. As for the CV I received where the photo took up half the page...! If you would like to include a photo it should be a passport photo and should remain that size. Personally I don’t like photos at all but that’s a personal point of view.
• Bad spelling – How can a CV done on a computer contain spelling mistakes? Computers have a spell check function and it should always be used. Clear spelling mistakes in a CV scream ‘no attention to detail’, ‘computer illiterate’ or just plain ‘illiterate’. The other common mistake is for the wrong word to be used, e.g. ‘costumer’ instead of ’customer’. This is obviously not a mistake that spell check will pick up so CVs must be checked carefully for such errors, preferably by someone else as well.
• Too long / too short – Why would I want to wade through a 5 page CV for an administrative position? I received one which was just such a length because the applicant had written half a page about each [position, job, role, employment]. This was incredibly repetitive and unnecessary. As soon as you pick up a long CV your brain sighs and you are likely to be less inclined towards that person. It also suggests, to me anyway, an inability to prioritise the salient points. Not something I want in an administrator. I also received a 1 page CV where only a few lines was written about each [position, job, role, employment]. This is not good either. I felt immediately inclined to reject this person without actually reading it as it seemed they couldn’t have much experience although on closer inspection they actually did just didn’t go into any useful detail. A CV for this kind of position and most others out there should be 2 or 3 pages, no more no less.
• Not explaining gaps in employment – Gaps of any more than a few months should be explained. Too CVs contain gaps in the work history of anything from 6 months to several years. If the reason is children or illness or anything else then say so. Gaps leave worrying question marks over a CV.
• Terrible presentation – A CV is not an essay and should therefore not be presented as such. A CV should look good and readable. Clear headings and breaks between information are essential. Think objectively about how a [prospective, potential] employer will view the CV when they pick it up for the first. A tip is to try using a different font from the norm (e.g. Times New Roman and Arial). Try using a ‘friendly’ looking font which is going to be different from everyone else’s CV.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Happy job hunting!
About Author
Jobs near Portsmouth
Jobs near Southampton
Article Source:
http://www.1888articles.com/author-louisa-anderson-14977.html
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