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The CV - what not to do

27 Jul 2007

The CV - what not to do When applying for jobs, millions of eager applicants blow their chances as soon as they hand over their CV, according to a new study.

A survey by technical and engineering recruitment firm NES Overseas found that easily avoidable errors are a common feature of many CVs.

Even if students are only applying for part-time jobs to pay their way through university, certain annoying CV mistakes can eliminate the most promising graduate.

As reported by Onrec.com, a staggering 100 per cent of respondents cited a poor CV layout as one of the errors most commonly made.

Michael Wallace, recruitment manager at NES Overseas, emphasised: "Uniformity, clarity and flow of information are pertinent when you bear in mind that an employer only needs to look at a CV for a few second before deciding whether or not to continue reading it."

Gaps in work history were also found to be an unpopular feature of CVs, with suspicious employers questioning why the omission has been made.

Poor spelling and grammar also irritated many employers - as did over-generalised CVs that were not tailored to specific job descriptions.

Mr Wallace explained: "Tailored CVs generate a much more positive response from employers than those which are mass-mailed in a standard format to a large volume of recipients.

"It might appear to be more time-consuming to adapt your CV every time you apply for a job, but you will increase your chances of success if you can illustrate precisely how your skills and experience match the requirements of the role."


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