Three CV mistakes to avoid

Beyond the obvious—such as poor spelling, an unprofessional email address and fabricated career history—these are the three faux pas you should aim to avoid when writing your CV.

1. A too-long lists of skills

Many candidates, particularly in technical disciplines like engineering or IT, assume that all companies and recruiters rely entirely on ‘parsing’ technology and don’t actually read CVs. This often false assumption can result in a CV that contains a huge lists of every process or package you’ve ever worked with – which will not do you any favours when a hiring manager reviews your resume. Often, hiring managers are more interested in ‘softer skills’ or competencies.

2. A photograph

Depending on your industry this may not harm your job prospects (marketing/sales or other client-facing roles may appreciate the headshot), but it is generally not a good move to send your prospective employer an image of yourself with your resume. Let your experience speak for itself.

3. Wordy intros

Despite common belief, most hiring managers won’t appreciate a lengthy executive summary. The introduction paragraph many candidates choose to include in their CV is often essentially a meaningless list of management “buzzwords” that take up space and don’t say much about the job seeker’s true goals or interests.

In essence, while a CV needs to include all of your best selling points, a strong one will do just that—get to the point. The art is as much about what to leave out as what to include.

Need advice about your CV or how to go about finding your next job? Talk to the experts at Page Personnel to take the next step.