The Top Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your CV: Insider Tips from Professional CV Writers
Making a good impression is vital when applying for any job, although quite often silly mistakes on your CV can jeopardise this. We’ve put together a list of the most common mistakes and tips on how to avoid them.
- Too Long!
Candidates often make the mistake of cramming too much information on their CV, it is not supposed to be a novel. Try to remember less is more, be concise.
- Spelling mistakes and bad grammar!
Attention to detail is paramount and could ruin a potentially perfect CV, unfortunately spell check does not always spot errors. Therefore, it is always worth asking a fresh pair of eyes to read over it before you apply for any jobs.
- Incorrect Information!
Incorrect personal information, take your time when adding mobile numbers and email addresses. It is easy for a number or letter to be missed out which could lose you the opportunity for your dream job. Check your employment dates, do they tally up? Check everything and take your time.
- Job-hopping and unemployment gaps!
This can be viewed negatively, as it shows an inconsistency in your work history. Quite often these are periods where you’ve developed other skills, perhaps you’ve travelled, taken time out for family. There are lots of other reasons and it is better to be honest but without going into too much detail, particularly if time away from employment is of a delicate nature. It is
better to group temporary jobs as ‘contract/freelance work’, other examples could be ‘travelling’, ‘raising a family’, ‘studying’ or simply ‘caring for a relative’. This can always be explained at a later date if necessary.
- Job descriptions that aren’t descriptive!
Don’t lessen the importance of the job roles you have worked in; it shows the employer your understanding of your responsibilities. If you can explain any specific accomplishments that were outside the scope of your job description, this will show your dedication to the role and that you are a reliable and hardworking candidate.
- Poor Formatting!
Avoid graphics, borders, shading, underlining and italics. Check the font size, a recommended size would be 10 or 11. Otherwise it can make your CV look too complicated or hard to read. Use Bold type or capitals to emphasise major headings.
5 Important rules to remember when writing your CV:
- Take your time and really think about what you are writing, write up a draft then read over it and make any additional changes.
- Write your personal statement or profile last, although this might be at the top of your CV this is summarising your work experience. Once you have written your job descriptions and completed all the other sections, it will be much easier to create your profile statement.
- Double Check everything, make sure your spelling and grammar is correct along with dates, and personal information. Any mistakes will reflect poorly on you.
- Make your words count, stick to the key points and be concise. Employers will lose concentration with more than 2 pages of your CV.
- Presentation is key, the layout should always be well structured.