CV – 5 dos and don’ts!
Going through hundreds of CVs per week, you end up working out what makes or breaks a CV. From a recruiter’s point of view, these are my 5 Dos and 5 Don’ts for CVs:
Dos –
1) Include specific, measurable key achievements under each job in the work experience section of your CV.
2) Look at job adverts for your dream job. Look at the requirement section – include any skills you have that match these in your skills section using the same wording.
3) Use a format that is tidy, easy to read and easy to follow.
4) If the job you are applying for is after some skills that you have, mention those skills in your key achievements so they can see examples in action.
5) Most important Do: include clear and up to date contact info! It does not matter how good your CV is if no one can contact you about an opportunity.
Don’ts –
1) Include a picture. It can lead to discrimination; it takes up space and it is completely unnecessary.
2) Use a fancy format that makes your 1-page CV look pretty. Use a more ‘boring’ format allows you to include more relevant information. It is easier for search tools to read.
3) Write your job description under each job – it should be about what you have achieved, not just your responsibilities.
4) Forget to double-check for grammatical and spelling mistakes. It’s easy to miss if you’ve been working on it for a few hours, so get a friend or a family member to look over it with a fresh set of eyes.
5) Skipping important details/descriptions for the sake of making your CV shorter. We have all heard how a 2-page CV is best. The reality is, it’s the content that matters, and if having a longer CV will mean that you can include the relevant information you need to add, that’s a much better option than e.g. not saying what you achieved at your past job.
Need more help? Get in touch with the team so we can send you our CV template.
