\n<\/p>\n
Your CV needs to be perfect if you want a fighting chance for the job you\u2019re applying for.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I don\u2019t use the word \u2018perfect\u2019 loosely.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because that\u2019s what hiring managers look for: the perfect candidate. They won\u2019t settle for anything less.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A \u2018perfect CV\u2019 means that it ticks all the right boxes and leaves a great first impression on the person reading it. It makes the hiring manager think: \u2018Wow, this is the applicant I want to hire!\u2019. A CV containing even the tiniest error, meanwhile, may indicate a lack of\u00a0attention to detail\u00a0and\u00a0professionalism\u00a0\u2013 both\u00a0highly sought-after qualities\u00a0that employers look for in potential employees \u2013 and will most likely put them off your application.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having reviewed my fair share of CVs over the past six years, I can assure you most of them were anything but perfect \u2013 and were easily ruled out of consideration to make room for applicants who were better able to present themselves for a potential job.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In other words, the simplest mistake will most likely be severely punished, potentially costing you the job of a lifetime \u2013 which is why I\u2019ve put together this list of the 25 most common CV mistakes I\u2019ve encountered, both as a CV writer and as a hiring manager, and which you should definitely avoid if you really want that job.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the\u00a0chronological CV\u00a0is the most common and recognisable of all\u00a0CV formats, it\u2019s not always the best option, despite popular belief.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Indeed, if you\u2019re\u00a0changing careers\u00a0or have a few employment gaps, the\u00a0skills-based CV\u00a0is your friend, as it focuses on your skills rather than your work history. Likewise, if you\u2019re applying for an animator job, for example, an animated\u00a0video CV\u00a0can better showcase your skills in a way that a more traditional CV can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Objective statements are a thing of the past, and for a couple of good reasons: they\u2019re typically vague, and they don\u2019t really offer hiring managers anything of value.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Consider this example:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Passionate and diligent individual with 7 years of experience in recruitment, seeking full-time employment with an innovative employer that will allow me to leverage my skills.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>and what\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>want.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, you should focus on what you bring to the table and how that meets the needs of potential employers. And the best way to do that is with a well-written professional summary, like so:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Self-motivated and results-driven recruitment consultant with 7 years of experience helping businesses screen and recruit viable applicants. Obtained a 98% success rate in filling open vacancies, and successfully won repeat business worth $36,000 in 3 months.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018When a hiring manager or recruiter reads your CV, they\u2019re comparing it to the job posting or the job they\u2019re considering you for,\u2019 says founder of\u00a0CareerSidekick.com\u00a0and former executive recruiter Biron Clark. \u2018They\u2019re thinking, \u201cDoes this person have the skills and experience needed to step into this job and succeed?\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In other words, you simply cannot afford to not\u00a0tailor your CV\u00a0to the job you\u2019re applying for. By doing so, you show the hiring manager that your experience and qualifications match the job requirements.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also essential for passing through applicant tracking systems, which scan your CV for specific keywords that match the job requirements. If it doesn\u2019t fit the bill, it\u2019s quickly \u2013 and mercilessly \u2013 discarded, before human eyes even see it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The only time when it\u2019s okay to use a generic CV is when you\u2019re unable to tailor it around a specific job, such as when you\u2019re uploading your CV to an online database or when attending a\u00a0job fair. Even then, though, it should still target specific keywords related to your profession and industry.<\/p>\n Hiring managers don\u2019t care about your day-to-day activities in your past jobs. They know what a surgeon does, for example, so you don\u2019t need to bore them with details like \u2018Treating injuries, diseases and physical deformities through operations, using a variety of instruments, tools and devices.\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What they do care about is what you achieved in your various activities. So, continuing with the surgeon example, you could instead put a spin on that particular bullet point by highlighting your achievements like so: \u2018Performed more than 20,000 cardiovascular surgeries with a 99% success rate\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Quantifying your achievements with numbers like this tells hiring managers how good you are at what you do, and it can be just what sways their hiring decision to your favour.<\/p>\n Despite popular belief,\u00a0employment gaps\u00a0won\u2019t hinder your application \u2013 as long as you\u2019re transparent about them. They\u00a0will\u00a0<\/em>hurt your chances of getting an interview, though, if you try to lie about or completely ignore them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to go into great detail about any gaps. Still, you should at the very least acknowledge them and offer an explanation, whether it\u2019s because of a layoff, you were caring for a sick family member or even if you just needed a\u00a0career break. Alternatively, if gaps only last a few months, you could simply remove months from employment dates, like so: \u20182017\u20132018\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Whatever you do, don\u2019t be tempted to extend your period of employment in past positions to cover up gaps. There\u2019s every chance the hiring manager will call your previous employers to verify your time there!<\/p>\n Is your CV full of meaningless clich\u00e9s and overused phrases like \u2018fast learner\u2019 and \u2018hard-working\u2019? If so, you\u2019ll need to remove them and instead offer examples that\u00a0show\u00a0<\/em>how much of a fast learner and hard worker you are.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n These types of phrases \u2018are also very overused in general, so they\u2019ve lost most of their meaning,\u2019 says Clark. \u2018The only exception is if a job posting specifically mentions one of these phrases. In that case, you should include it.\u2019<\/p>\n No matter how badly you want the job, it\u2019s never okay to\u00a0lie on your CV\u00a0\u2013 whether it\u2019s exaggerating your qualifications, embellishing employment dates or completely fabricating a position you\u2019ve never held.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The truth has a habit of coming out in the end, and your integrity and credibility are at risk, as is your job if you manage to successfully lie your way to employment. Take Scott Thompson, the former CEO of Yahoo!, for example: he had to\u00a0step down from the position\u00a0in 2012 after his computer science degree turned out to be a complete lie.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You could also go to jail. In 2019, an Australian woman received a\u00a025-month jail sentence\u00a0for lying on her r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to land a $185,000-a-year job in regional government.<\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re an actor or a model, or you\u2019re converting your CV for an international application (particularly in countries like Germany, Japan and the UAE), steer clear of\u00a0CV photos.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Remember: space on your CV is limited, and including your headshot only wastes that space. It also opens you up to all kinds of potential discrimination.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At the end of the day, most hiring managers are far more interested in your professional background than in your appearance.<\/p>\n Skills graphs might look cool, but they don\u2019t quite offer an accurate representation of your abilities. After all, how you rank your skills is a matter of personal bias.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (Skills graphs are also often ignored by ATS software \u2013 more on that next.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The best way to offer tangible evidence of what you\u2019re capable of is to do so in plain old text. For example, instead of giving yourself a score of 9\/10 in Microsoft 365, mention that you\u2019re Windows Certified (if you are, of course). Likewise, instead of ranking your\u00a0team management skills, mention how you led a team of 7 sales assistants in consistently exceeding sales targets by 20%.<\/p>\n One of the most common CV mistakes to avoid is not taking\u00a0applicant tracking systems\u00a0into account when\u00a0writing your CV. And I\u2019m not just talking about adding relevant keywords throughout your CV, as I touched upon earlier (but, do be careful with going overboard with keywords).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Make sure the formatting of your CV is clean, organised and easy to follow. Use headings to separate\u00a0CV sections, and avoid adding images, charts and tables to your CV. (These make it hard for ATSs to process your CV, which might end up in the \u2018no\u2019 pile as a result.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Likewise, spell out all abbreviations and acronyms. For example, some ATSs might not understand what NRWA means. Instead, write it out like so: \u2018NRWA (National R\u00e9sum\u00e9 Writers\u2019 Association)\u2019. This also helps human readers who aren\u2019t familiar with industry-specific jargon understand what exactly you\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n Unless the job advertisement specifically requests you to include salary details in your CV (which is highly unlikely), do not \u2013 I repeat: do\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 mention anything about past or current earnings or even salary expectations. Again, it just wastes space and, most importantly, it tells employers that you only care about money and not the company or job.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The only time you should mention anything related to money on your CV is when describing things like how you improved profits for the company or how you implemented a successful plan within budget, for example. Everything else, leave it for the\u00a0interview\u00a0or\u00a0negotiation\u00a0stage.<\/p>\n Sure, Great Vibes is a beautiful font, but there are two issues with using unusual fonts like this in your CV: one, it can be hard to read and, two, it\u2019s not supported on all word-processing software.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The best thing to do is use a\u00a0more suitable font\u00a0like Arial or Calibri, which are both supported by virtually all software. (On that note, do shy away from outdated fonts \u2013 and generally all serif fonts \u2013 like Times New Roman, which are best used in print documents.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking of fonts, avoid using more than two different font styles in your CV, and keep the font size between 10pt and 12pt. That said, section headings can be as large as 16pt, and your name at the top of the document can be as large as 22pt.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Writing in the third person only manages to create distance between you and the person reading your CV. You want to make your CV sound like you\u2019re talking directly to the hiring manager, so it\u2019s better to use the first person when describing your background and qualifications.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That said, you should drop personal pronouns wherever possible when writing in the first person, as this saves space. It might seem like it doesn\u2019t save a lot of space, but it certainly adds up when you remove 78 unnecessary \u2018I\u2019s and 24 \u2018my\u2019s from your CV, giving you that little bit of extra room to add in that important bullet point or skill you were forced to remove.<\/p>\n \u2018Rather than starting bullets with \u201cresponsible for\u201d, begin with a verb like \u201cled\u201d or \u201corganised\u201d or \u201cmanaged\u201d,\u2019 says Clark.\u00a0Action verbs\u00a0like these are more impactful, and they help you better describe your experience, skills and accomplishments to potential employers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Clark offers this example of a bad bullet and a good one:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bad bullet:\u00a0<\/strong>Responsible for managing 5 customer support associates.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Good bullet:\u00a0<\/strong>Led and trained 5 customer support associates, handling 250 inbound customer requests per day with a 98.6% customer satisfaction rate.<\/p>\n One of the most common mistakes to avoid is switching back and forth between tenses. Not only does this make your CV hard to read, but it also confuses readers as to what you did when.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Stick to the past tense (e.g.: \u2018oversaw\u2019) for past events and accomplishments, and use the present continuous tense (e.g.: \u2018overseeing\u2019) for ongoing activities. The present continuous tense uses the present tense of \u2018to be\u2019 before the verb, so its correct application would be \u2018I am overseeing\u2019. However, to save space, it\u2019s perfectly fine \u2013 and encouraged \u2013 to drop \u2018I am\u2019 completely.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On that note, always put your current activities first and past accomplishments last in bulleted lists.<\/p>\n Your CV is a professional document, not a dating profile. This means there\u2019s no place on your CV for\u00a0personal information\u00a0like your height, hair colour, date of birth, marital status, sexual orientation or religion.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, there are instances when it\u2019s perfectly acceptable to include some personal information in your CV (like your height and eye colour if you\u2019re applying for a modelling job, for example, or the number of children you have if you\u2019re hoping to land a job in childcare), but it\u2019s generally best to leave these things out for more traditional jobs.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the time to write the new\u00a0War and Peace<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Try to keep your CV to one page long, highlighting all the important information in the top half of the page. Feel free to go over one page if you have a lot of relevant experience that is worth mentioning, but\u00a0two pages\u00a0should be your cut-off point.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That said, if you\u2019re in an academic or scientific field and you\u2019ve got a particularly long list of publications and patents to your name, no one will bat an eye if your CV is 10 pages long.<\/p>\n The whole point of adding your contact details to your CV is so that hiring managers interested in your application can contact you to schedule an interview. But if you\u2019ve listed an old phone number or misspelt your email address, it\u2019s unlikely to happen.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If an employer is\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0interested in you, they might find other ways to contact you, but most will simply give up trying, and you will potentially miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ultimately, you need to make sure all your contact details are correct and up to date.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re still using the email address you\u00a0hilariously\u00a0<\/em>set up back in high school or college, it might be time to change it before you send your next job application \u2013\u00a0bigbooty87@example.com\u00a0might have been funny back then, but it certainly won\u2019t earn you any brownie points with potential employers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, opt for a more professional-sounding email address, preferably containing your first and last name or a variation of it, like\u00a0johnsmith@example.com\u00a0or\u00a0jsmith87@example.com.<\/p>\n Whether you include links to your social media accounts in you CV or not, hiring managers will likely check them out anyway to determine whether you are who you say you are and to assess your potential as a viable candidate. So, it\u2019s best to include them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Setting up a\u00a0LinkedIn profile\u00a0is a good first step, as it has become a key part in 21st Century recruitment. If you already have one, make sure to regularly update it with new achievements, skills and publications. You can also link to your Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube and Instagram pages, if appropriate.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That said, you should only ever link to your\u00a0professional<\/em>\u00a0social media profiles. If you\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0link to your personal profiles, make sure you do a little spring-cleaning first. This means removing alcohol-fuelled holiday snaps and anything else that you wouldn\u2019t want a potential employer to see, or at the very least adjusting your privacy settings.<\/p>\n Another common CV mistake is dedicating an\u00a0entire section to references. It\u2019s simply an outdated practice, and it wastes valuable real estate that could otherwise be used to talk about your accomplishments.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t add the phrase \u2018References available upon request\u2019, either. The hiring manager knows \u2013 or, at least, hopes \u2013 you have references, and they will ask you to supply a list only when they need one (usually once they\u2019ve made you a\u00a0job offer).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0include your references, the best thing to do is to create a separate list and attach it at the end of your application.<\/p>\n Recruiters receive hundreds \u2013 if not thousands \u2013 of applications each day, and it\u2019s often hard to keep track of who applied for what. This is especially true when applications are given generic file names like \u2018CV.doc\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, they can easily change the name of a file, but why give them that bit of extra work? Instead, give your file a more descriptive name that targets the job you\u2019re applying for, such as \u2018John-Smith-Chartered-Accountant-CV.doc\u2019.<\/p>\n PDFs are great because they ensure the formatting of a document doesn\u2019t mess up when it\u2019s opened. However, some ATS programmes can\u2019t \u2018read\u2019 PDFs and will usually filter them out as a result. Instead, send your CV as a Word document, and try to use simple formatting.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Only send your CV as a PDF (or any other file format) if the job advertisement specifically asks you to.<\/p>\n A\u00a0recent survey\u00a0of 379 recruiters revealed that CVs with typos and grammatical errors were an instant deal-breaker for a staggering 79% of respondents. This only emphasises the importance of\u00a0proofreading your CV\u00a0before sending it off \u2013 especially if you\u2019re applying for an editorial position, for example, and you list something silly like your \u2018excellent attenshun to derail skills\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That said,\u00a0grammar and spelling issues\u00a0aren\u2019t the only thing you need to look out for. Double-check everything: facts, statistics, job titles, employment dates, formatting and, as touched upon earlier, your contact details.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to be consistent in how you present information. For example, if you list dates as \u2018September 2018\u2013October 2019\u2019, make sure you don\u2019t abbreviate month names elsewhere in your CV.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why good writers enlist the help of professional editors to go over their work: they become too close to their writing that they can\u2019t help but be a little biased when self-editing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That said, you don\u2019t have to hire a professional editor to review your CV before you start applying for jobs, but it\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>a good idea to ask a couple of friends or family members to go over it. Indeed, they might be able to offer you some valuable feedback or spot an error that you couldn\u2019t, ultimately saving you from potentially embarrassing typos like \u2018Native Spinach speaker\u2019. If you know a hiring manager or CV writer to read through your CV, even better!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Recruiters spend most of their day reviewing CVs, and their initial review involves spotting anything that doesn\u2019t quite match the job requirements, or that raises a red flag \u2013 whether it\u2019s an innocent typo or a blatant lie. So, if you\u2019re guilty of making any of these common CV mistakes, now is the time to fix them!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Have you made any other potentially catastrophic errors that hindered your chances of landing an interview? Got a question about CV writing you need answering?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d love to hear from you \u2013 just join the conversation below!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n PS: If you\u2019re struggling with writing the perfect CV, help is at hand. Our\u00a0professional CV writers\u00a0are just a click away, and can help you create a job-winning document in as little as five days!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your CV needs to be perfect if you want a fighting chance for the job you\u2019re applying for. \u00a0 And I don\u2019t use the word \u2018perfect\u2019 loosely. \u00a0 Because that\u2019s what hiring…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uptymes.com\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. Not tailoring your CV to the job<\/h2>\n
4. Focusing on duties instead of achievements<\/h2>\n
5. Ignoring employment gaps<\/h2>\n
6. Using meaningless clich\u00e9s<\/h2>\n
7. Lying<\/h2>\n
8. Including your headshot<\/h2>\n
9. Using skills graphs<\/h2>\n
10. Not writing for ATS<\/h2>\n
11. Including salary details<\/h2>\n
12. Using unusual fonts<\/h2>\n
13. Writing in the third person<\/h2>\n
14. Not using action verbs<\/h2>\n
15. Switching between tenses<\/h2>\n
16. Including personal information<\/strong><\/h2>\n
17. Confusing your CV for a novel<\/h2>\n
18. Listing wrong contact details<\/h2>\n
19. Using an inappropriate email address<\/h2>\n
20. Leaving out social media links<\/h2>\n
21. Including references<\/h2>\n
22. Choosing a generic file name<\/h2>\n
23. Sending a PDF<\/h2>\n
24. Not proofreading<\/h2>\n
25. Not asking for feedback<\/h2>\n