TOP 10 MISTAKES RECRUITERS HATE TO SEE ON YOUR CV
CVs are the primary means of getting a job as it conveys specific information about your academic history, work experience, achievements and many more.
Through Assist to Hire’s years of practice as a human resource firm and interviewing candidates for top companies, we have recognised general mistakes applicants make when writing CVs.
Here are the top 10 mistakes recruiters hate to see on your CV, so take note.
You are sending your CV as a google doc without granting the necessary permissions.
Google Doc is a new technological advancement developed by Google. It is now easier to send your CV through google docs for free without paying for a Microsoft Office subscription. However, candidates forget to give the necessary permissions to the receiving party. Regrettably, that detail could cost you the job if the hiring manager can’t view your CV. Another reason is recruiters have many CVs to review and might not get back to you for document access.
So, we suggest that you download your documents as a PDF file and email it to the hiring manager.
You added an unprofessional email address.
Your email address creates positive or negative perceptions about you as a job candidate. A new study finds that recruiters rate candidates with a professional email address above those with an unprofessional email address.
Creating an email with a nickname might seem hip but applying for jobs using it is a career killer move. Equally, outdated email administrators such as AOL, Comcast, Hotmail, Rocketmail or Outlook emails have the same effect, and it is time to upgrade to Gmail.
Ensure to create a new email account using your first and last names to enhance how a recruiter tracks your records on search engines.
Applying for a job with company A but mentioning company B
Tailoring your CV for every job application is extensively advised because every job is unique. Also, job roles have distinct requirements regardless of if they share a job title.
In relation to applicants applying for jobs, quite a handful of these individuals rush through the process and are not meticulous. Consequently, oversight occurs, and applicants unknowingly retain the data of a previous job application in the resume intended for another job.
Proofreading is needed after drafting your resume. However, it does not guarantee an error-free CV, but requires paying extreme attention and seeking a second eye to review your work. If possible hire a professional CV writer to assist in revamping your CV.
Getting too creative with Typography
One of the crucial items a recruiter observes on your CV is your typography, and you might ask what typography is and its impact.
Typography is the art and technique of arrangement to make the written language more visible, legible and appealing when presented.
Your CV’s text font and structure might not be as important as the content, but they work hand-in-hand to strike a professional impression on the recruiter.
Here are text fonts you can adopt in your subsequent CV.
- Times New Roman
- Georgia
- Bell MT
- Goudy Old Style
- Garamond
- Calibri
- Arial
- Verdana and many more.
Note that you can’t apply more than one font in your resume because it indicates inconsistencies and makes your CV look messy.
Indicating your secondary school information on your CV.
The majority of job applicants always include their secondary school information on their resumes. This information is unnecessary and redundant, especially when applying for a job that requires a higher level of academic qualification.
Guess what? Recruiters mostly don’t need that information because it is simply not necessary. If you have to indicate your secondary school history, ensure it is the highest level of education you have attained.
Stating on your CV that you’re “An Expert in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.”
These days, almost every candidate is “proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint”. Yet, recruiters hate to see it every time you add it to your CV.
Nonetheless, if your Microsoft office skills are advanced, then you can include the phrase in your resume and be prepared to back it up.
Other than that, focus on adding the most relevant work tools or skills that can advertise you as the best candidate.
Listing outdated or irrelevant experiences
The information represented in your resume should strategically position you as the right fit for the job. To buttress this, extensively indicating your salesman work history is worthless when applying for a graphic designer role.
The key is to mention relevant work history with accomplishments as it aligns to the new job role.
Unexplained work gaps.
Employment gaps on your resume is a red flag to recruiters and might raise a lot of eyebrows and questions such as, what happened in your last employment, why did you leave and is hiring you a good idea.
Explaining your work gaps when applying for jobs is vital, especially when you have over six months of an unemployment gap.
Your cover letter is the perfect avenue to explain your work gap. There are numerous reasons people have work gaps. It could be time off for family, travelling, personal reasons or even health challenges. However, it’s best if you can provide a reason for your employment gaps to promote trustworthiness.
Your Resume is Inconsistent with your LinkedIn profile.
Numerous candidates are not aware that recruiters leverage social media to verify their work history.
If a recruiter is interested in your resume, they are likely to look up your LinkedIn profile to learn more about your work history as stated on your CV, and look for anomalies. Therefore, ensure to update your LinkedIn profile to correspond with your resume.
Pro Tip: You don’t want to tip off your current colleagues that you’re hunting for a new job? To ensure your LinkedIn profile edits aren’t broadcast to your network, log in and move your cursor over “Profile” at the top of your homepage, then select “Edit Profile.” Next, find the box on the right-hand side of your profile that says “Notify your network?” and toggle the button, so it says “No.”
A voluminous CV
Some job applicants like to list all of their work history, hobbies, and personal information on their CV. Nevertheless, nobody likes to read a ton of content, especially a recruiter who has many CVs to filter from their inbox.
To conclude, one of the top secrets of writing a compelling CV is to make it as concise as possible while justifying all the necessary information to convince the recruiter you qualify for the job.