The tragic CV Mistakes you might already be making…

As a team with nearly 100 years of combined experience, we’ve seen our fair share of CVs and on a daily basis, we view between 200 and 400 profiles.

There will always be a difference of opinion on what a CV looks like, what the content should be and the overall format. Whilst there isn’t a formula for ‘The Perfect CV’, there are definitely some tragic mistakes you could be making that are severely impacting your chances of success.

What’s the story?

Your CV is you. It’s your personal and professional history on paper.

It needs to be representative of your exposure and experience, an insight into who you are, what you’ve done and what your experience is. From a CV, we should be able to understand your current situation, who you are and ultimately why we have it.

This is your first opportunity to sell yourself and if you’re not saying who you are, you’re not doing a very good job.

This is one of the biggest mistakes we see.Next time you review your profile, think – Does this actually explain and sell who I am?

What’s your name and where’d you come from?

Although the content of your CV is important, there is one small (but very important) item that is often forgotten – Your name and contact details!

The number of profiles we encounter that are missing the simplest information of who you are, where you’re looking for opportunities or how to contact you is outstanding.

You can have the best CV in the world, but without your contact details, it’s unlikely to go much further. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot over such a simple thing!

On the topic of contact details, it’s also worthwhile thinking about what they actually are. If you’re still using [email protected], it might be time to think of something a little more professional…

Standing out from the crowd

It’s great to really stand out from the crowd, and your CV can be a fantastic opportunity to do this, but how you do that is important.

If you’re going for bold choices of colour and formatting, with graphs, clip art and graphics everywhere, it might be time for a re-think. Your CV wrapped around a chocolate bar is an impressive idea if you’re a marketing individual trying to show initiative, or applying for a job at Cadburys, but outside of that it’s often best to stick to something more traditional.

You’re looking to stand out from the crowd with credible content and strong achievements, not by have an overwhelming profile that attacks the eye!

Buzzing with Buzzwords

I’m sure at some point, someone has told you how great buzzwords are. You’ve probably even been given the advice to write a list of them in the margin in white, so you show up in ‘recruiter searches’?

If you really believe you are a ‘Dynamic and progressive professional that is goal driven, who can work well independently under your own initiative or as part of a team’ then that’s fine, but think of better way to show it.

Responsibilities and achievements that highlight those competencies are much better than using tired clichés and buzz words. If you are going indulge in them, do so like a fine whiskey – In moderation and with lots of care!

How long is too long?

Length is a question that often comes up. As with buzzwords, you’ve probably heard the golden words of wisdom that your CV shouldn’t exceed two pages. Personally, this is an adage I find notably frustrating.

Length is really important. You don’t want the recruiting or hiring manager to lose interest or get bored quickly because they’ve got a 10,000 dissertation in front of them, but equally, if it takes you three pages to express your experience over two, it’s not going to be the end of the world.

On many occasions, we’ve seen profiles cut short, lacking credible achievements and career history purely in the interest of that 2 page limit.

If you really do want to be precious about your profile length, read through your profile and ensure all the information relevant. Also think about how you use your CV Real Estate. Reference Details, Hobbies & Interest and large personal summaries along with poor formatting and unnecessary headers are space-eaters.

Why so modest?

Highlighting your role and responsibilities throughout your career history is the key part of any CV, but is that enough? Does it allow you to show off and sell yourself?

Modesty is a fine attribute, but when we’re talking about your first opportunity to impress, a little bit of boasting can be fine. If your CV doesn’t include a few key achievements, whether that’s within your personal profile of assigned to each role, you’re missing a trick.

An achievement can typically take many faces, but a good place to start would be:

• Where you have made the business money
• Where you have saved the business money
• Where you have introduced or improved a process

Generally, you’re looking for specific activities or actions that have made direct improvement to the business. Numbers or tangible examples are paramount here, such as introducing a new policy that improved employee retention by 30%, or improving your recruitment & onboarding process saving the business ￡XX,000

If you’re not including Key Achievements on your profile, you’re missing a prime opportunity to display your worth.

As I said at the start – There is no formula for ‘The Perfect CV’.

Industry, Discipline and and geographic will always have an impact on what makes a CV good, but if you avoid some of the common mistakes above, you should be onto a strong start!

If you’re thinking about making your next move and want advice on your profile along with support throughout your search, get in touch with one of our market specialist consultants now on 01273 628 243.

Callum is a specialist consultant focusing on HR appointments across the South East, with a team focusing on appointments in HR, Finance & Marketing.

Badenoch & Clark provide specialist recruitment solutions to the professional staffing world, including Campaign Management, Contingent Search, Retained Assignments, Interim Management, Outplacement and Managed Solutions.