6 CV writing mistakes that you want to avoid

There are 6 mistakes that even experienced professionals make when writing their CV. Here are they and how you can avoid them:

1. Leaving gaps on your CV. It is very tempting to leave a gap on your CV when you did something that isn't relevant to the position that you apply for or you did something that you don't consider to be in your favor. Examples of this could be when you didn't work because you looked after a sick family member, took some time off to travel, were starting up a company or consultancy that failed, it took you a couple of months to find a suitable job or you started at a company but left after a very short time. In any case: do not leave a gap on your CV and do not stretch your other experience to fill the gap. If you leave a gap then the company that you apply for will enquire about what you did during that time anyway and being upfront is always better. If you stretch your other experience you put yourself into a difficult position. Instead, write one line including the date and what you were doing and your future employee will be very understanding. For example:

03/2019 - 06/2019 Traveled in Australia, Japan, China. 

01/2019 - 05/2019 Looking after my elderly mother.

How you handle a gap is a bit similar to how you react if you made a mistake: if you make a mistake it's no problem as long as you take responsibility and don't try to hide it. The same is the case for a gap on your CV: If you are upfront it's no problem and you demonstrate that you take ownership. 

2. Not using formatted text & bullet points. Do not use unformatted text. It's difficult to read and a lot of people will just skip it. Instead, use bullet points and formatted text combined with short, precise sentences or keywords. For example: which of the following summaries would you rather read?

Unformatted text:

Formatted text:

The content is the same but the formatted text is a lot easier to read.

3. Not using consistent formatting. Don't switch the formatting style. For example: Don't change the font type. When using bullet points don't use a "." at the end of some sentences and then don't use one at the end of other sentences. Don't use bullet points to describe your responsibilities of one job and then use numbers in another one. It doesn't matter how you do it, just be consistent. I appreciate that this might be me paying a bit too much attention to detail. Still - it's your CV and you should present yourself as good as possible. Please pay extra attention to this if you work in a profession that requires high attention to detail or where you have to deal with text.

4. Don't double-check the spelling. Spelling mistakes are completely unnecessary because of tools such as Word's autocorrect function, Grammarly or many more freely available tools. Please, invest the 30 seconds that it takes to at least switch on the autocorrect function in Word and correct your spelling mistakes.

5. Writing long CVs. Keep it short & simple! Focus on the relevant experience and remove long explanations of experiences that are not relevant to the job that you apply for. Of course, don't misrepresent your experience. Any CV should be 1 to a maximum of 2 pages. One popular example: the CV of Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's former CEO. If one page is enough for Marissa Mayer, then it should also be sufficient for you.

Keeping it short and focusing on the relevant experience does also go along with not leaving gaps on your CV: If you did a completely different job previously that has nothing do do with your current work then just mention it in one line. If you had several jobs in a different, non-related area previously, then you can also summarise it in one line. For example:

2010 - 2015: Various roles in FUNCTION for COMPANY A, B, C.

The exception for the 1-2 pages is useful appendixes. Depending on your job there can be useful appendixes that make it easier to get a full understanding of your capabilities and experience.

1. You are a Scientist, have a list of publications and work in academia or for example in early drug discovery / R&D for the Pharmaceutical or Biotech industry. In this case, create an appendix with your list of publications. If you have publications and if they are not relevant for your current job you can write for example "List of X publications covering ABC available upon request" or just don't mention them. An example would be if you have publications and are working as a Clinical Project Manager.
2. Table with a list of projects: If you are for example a Clinical Project Manager, a CRA or work in a similar role, then include a table with a list of your projects. For CPMs this should include the year, company, phase, therapy area, countries, responsibilities, etc. The study details overview can look as follows:

6. Writing CVs without a focus. If you apply for different types of jobs don't send the same CV. Instead, write a customized CVs that highlight your relevant experience for every job type. Again, don't misrepresent your experience. Rather have a look at the job description and make sure that the experience that matches the requirements stands out and is easy to find in your CV.

In a nutshell: A CV should be: short, specific, easy to read, well-formatted and without spelling mistakes.