CV – Common Mistakes on Your CV

CV – Common Mistakes on CVs

The Curriculum Vitae is the greatest tool when you are searching for a job. However, it can also be a terrible bottleneck, if not handled correctly.

There are so many cases where in spite of being exceptional workers and having brilliant academic credentials, people would not get a call letter.

This is because their Curriculum Vitaes have some intrinsic mistakes that sabotage their basic purpose, i.e. getting an interview call.

Let us look at some of the most common mistakes that go into the Curriculum Vitae or are about the Curriculum Vitae, which prompts the recruiter to reject it.

1. The Curriculum Vitae is mass-produced for all the job applications - the importance of having a Curriculum Vitae drawn up specifically for the job you are applying, cannot be stressed enough. Unless the matter in Curriculum Vitae is oriented to complement and support the job you are applying for, the recruiter will pass you by. The best way to do that is use the same keywords that the employer has highlighted in their advertisements for the particular job. These keywords could be skills, qualifications or experience. Look up the website of the particular company and seek out what are the keywords that they emphasize when they announce the vacancy. You should also research about the company, its goals, etc and then give the recruiter what they want in an employee.

2. The Curriculum Vitae is too long - if your Curriculum Vitae crosses four pages then it is definitely too long (no more than two at the early stages of your career). One of the commonest mistakes of senior people mostly, is that they would insist in putting every experience they have acquired in their professional lives. In reality, all you need is the last ten years. Hence, you do not need to start with the first job you had; rather you should focus on your last ten years and use this to prove that your experience can qualify you as a value-addition to the company where you are applying.

3. The Curriculum Vitae is in the wrong style - check out carefully the requirements of the job and find out what is the best style of Curriculum Vitae that would be needed for that particular job application. For example a functional Curriculum Vitae that focuses on your skills most, would be great if you have gaps in your work history. It is often that the wrong presentation of information results in your Curriculum Vitae being rejected. Always ask yourself - 'what does the person who will read this letter want?' Then write the Curriculum Vitae accordingly. Make it compelling and convincing so the person who reads it would be convinced that you could one of the best candidates for the job.

4. The Curriculum Vitae is too spread out - this is another common mistake. Your best attributes, the ones, which would make you the best candidate, should be on the first page. This is the page that the recruiter will scan and if they do not find something that would hold their attention, they might not turn the page to see the rest. This does not mean that you should stuff everything in the first page; however, you should use the best part of your Curriculum Vitae information here.

5. The Curriculum Vitae has spelling/grammar mistakes - there is no greater put-off than a CV that has spelling and grammar mistakes. This reflects very poorly on the person who is sending it and it would prompt the recruiter to summarily reject it. A badly presented Curriculum Vitae (with spelling mistakes and poorly phrased) is just as if you would come dressed in crumpled dirty clothes and uncombed hair to the interview. Would anyone consider such a person for an interview? The same answer is applicable for the poorly presented Curriculum Vitae.