10 Things To Avoid When Writing Your CV According To Employers in 2024
In this article, we will be discussing 10 things to avoid when writing your CV.
One of the most difficult aspects of job hunting is writing a solid CV.
Most employers read each CV for a few seconds before putting it in the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ pile.
Here are the top ten things to avoid when writing your CV that can help you land that all-important interview.
10 Things To Avoid When Writing Your CV According To Employers in 2024
1, Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors,
Even if English isn’t your first language, there are no excuses for spelling errors. A flawless CV demonstrates your precision and attention to detail, so double-check everything, including your Punctuation, Spelling, Grammatical errors, and Contact information.
Don’t disregard the red lines that your spell-checking software uses to highlight text errors. Double-check what they’re indicating and think about whether the alternatives they’re suggesting will add or subtract impact to your work.
Always double-check your CV’s spelling. Make sure you’re writing in the correct tense, and if you’re using the third person, make sure you use it consistently throughout the document. Avoid using Americanism and spell-check. If you’re having trouble spotting errors, have a career professional, mentor, or friend review your CV.
2, Poor Formating
Employers are turned off by CVs that aren’t clear and easy to read. Employers spend an average of eight seconds per CV evaluating it, giving you little time to make a solid first impression.
You only have so much space on your CV, so make it count.
Set your page margins to a small size to allow plenty of area for text, and avoid leaving any large blank spaces.
It’s important to help the reader get to the most relevant information as easily as possible when thinking about how to format your CV.
Keep your CV short and simple so that it can be read quickly. When writing your CV, the template you use should be eye-catching yet not cluttered. Avoid utilizing diverse fonts and sizes, and avoid confusing layouts.
Use a font no smaller than size 10 and include a good amount of white space.
3, Unexplained gaps in employment
Unaccounted-for gaps in your employment history create concerns. Recruiters are concerned. If you’re lucky, when your CV is crumpled into a paper airplane and hurled into the trash can, they’ll wonder what you were doing during that mysterious period.
While gaps of a few weeks can be ignored, that of months can’t be ignored, if you’ve been unemployed for months (or even years), you must explain why. Potential employers will view any unexplained absences of this length with mistrust, giving the impression that you have been idle throughout this period.
Don’t be hesitant to tell recruiters that you spent time volunteering, caring for a sick relative, or traveling the world. There’s also no shame in alerting your boss about time off owing to an illness, medical condition, or redundancy.
4, Meaningless introductions
Your CV must get you noticed and an interview invitation. So the beginning paragraph that says everything while also saying nothing should not suffice.
Consider writing a headline about yourself that is brief, clear, and benefits-focused. “Senior Librarian with 10 years of experience administering online resources in the health sector,” for example.
That should suffice. It isn’t perfect, but it is an improvement over what you had previously.
Of course, journalists do this all the time. They write headlines that inform you what the story is about while teasing you just enough to entice you to keep reading. Your particular beginning headline should do the same.
Varying countries will have different requirements for personal information on your CV. It’s crucial to think about the information you share with potential employers.
A CV including a photograph, date of birth, nationality, and marital status should be avoided in the United Kingdom. Similarly, you do not need to reveal your personal social media profiles on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook (Social media act of your personal brand is an exception).
Another chance to create a good first impression. Consider the job you’re looking for and how your skills and experiences relate to it. If you want to work in the arts sector, describe your interest in exhibitions; if you want to work in the charity sector, add community involvement activities; and you can highlight other activities that reflect transferable skills and values.
6, Lying/Misleading information
It’s easy to exaggerate things when you’re trying to get a foot in the door and wow potential employers, since who’s going to check, right?
Wrong. Because the facts on your CV are easy to verify, never assume that recruiters will not do so.
Instead of wasting time and energy concocting half-truths and total fabrications, put your time and energy towards selling your qualifications, talents, and expertise.
Recruiters can spot information that does not stack up. For example, they are always on the lookout for inflated:
Qualifications Salaries
Job titles
Achievements
7, Adding the wrong contact information
Before sending out your CV, double-check that your contact information is correct and current. Also, don’t provide any email addresses that aren’t proper. Create a new email address if your current one is immature or unprofessional.
8, Not tailoring your CV to the specific role
Rather than sending out a generic CV to a huge number of businesses, we urge applicants to customise their CV to the job description,” Bell recommended.
Customizing your CV “shows that the candidate has done research into the firm and function it is a much better means of presenting oneself.”
Martin urged that you study the job descriptions completely and pay attention to crucial terms and phrases.
Drawing the employer’s attention to relevant talents you’ve acquired in previous roles – even if those roles aren’t directly related to the job you’re looking for – is a fantastic approach to show that you’re a good fit for the firm and the position.
9, Using an inappropriate email address
One thing that massively puts employers off is using an inappropriate email address in an application. Putting an unsuitable email address as a contact detail can instantly derail your application, as it can make you seem extremely unprofessional and overshadow the rest of your application.
Adding “cracklover11@xxxx.com” as your email contact information, for example, could be a significant turnoff for companies.
You should have a separate email address for use in a formal setting.
10, Making your CV too long
Make your CV as brief as possible. Unless you are looking for an academic or research position, it should be no more than two pages of A4.
Concentrate on your most current and relevant experience and accomplishments. The employer wants to see a customized CV that highlights transferrable experience, abilities, and accomplishments. Consider what you’ve shown in other roles that the company would be interested in.
Additional
Avoid using skills graphs
Graphs like the one below are designed to offer employers an indication of your skill levels in several areas.
The issue with them is that they provide readers with no genuine sense of scale.
For example, if someone says they are a “9/10” in Data Analysis, you still have no idea how talented they are.
Quote genuine, tangible facts that recruiters can relate to instead of skills graphs.
