Your CV matters. Besides your Cover Letter, the quality of your CV is the only thing between you and the shortlist.
I’ve chaired countless interview panels and shortlisted from hundreds of CVs and applications in the HE Sector where I work. Over the years I’ve received some fabulous quality documents.
However, I’ve also received more than my fair share of dreadful ones. These applicants often have experience within the sector or institution, but you would never know that, judging by the quality of their CV.
10 common errors which will guarantee rejection:
- Size matters. 10 pages is the current record. Longer is not better. Those of us shortlisting don’t have time to devote to reading a thesis
- Failure to tailor your CV to the specific job role, suggesting little motivation for the job
- Irrelevant information
- Spelling and grammatical errors
- Cluttered layout. Dates and headings are not aligned and different fonts make your CV look unprofessional
- Skills and experience required are missing. Maybe you have them, maybe you don’t. If it’s not explicit I’ll assume not
- LinkedIn profile link out of date. If you include a link to your profile ensure you’ve updated it first
- Mixing tenses. Your CV should be expressed in the 3rd person and in the past tense. It represents your achievements to date and so looks back on what you’ve done
- Over-use of superlatives. Quantify or qualify your achievements so they speak for themselves. No need for further embellishment
- Too much descriptive text. Punchy bullet points starting with an active verb are more effective
10 tips on how to make sure your CV stand does stand out
- Your CV should not exceed 2 pages. However, if the instructions are for a one-page CV, follow them
- Your CV does not need to contain everything you’ve ever done. You can have what I call a ‘kitchen sink’ version for your eyes only
- You may choose to include a profile underneath your personal details. This should demonstrate what you can do for the organisation and the role and be no longer than 2-3 sentences.
- Tailor, tailor, tailor. Include a section at the top after your personal details entitled: ‘Relevant Skills and Experience’. Pull these through from the roles you’ve held so they stand out
- For each point you’ve included in your CV ask yourself ‘why is that relevant to the role?’ If in doubt, take it out
- Do the skills and experiences you’ve listed clearly illustrate your ROI to the recruiter? Will the skills you have save them time or money? Increase efficiency or productivity? Improve systems or procedures? Enhance services to customers?
- Update your CV and LinkedIn profile at least once a year/whenever you change job roles. Make sure they complement each other
- Does your CV showcase any unique skills that could be useful to the recruiter? These may give you an edge over the other applicants. E.g. advanced technical skills, relevant courses or qualifications
- Personal interests. Do include these at the end, especially interests that contribute to meeting workplace criteria. Any passions create potential talking points
- Career breaks- At the end of your CV, if you have had a career break you could state this under a heading ‘Planned Career Break’ with dates – and don’t add any other info. Unless you are on a career break currently in which case you might add that following a planned career break you’re seeking to return to employment or change direction.
Top tip
I’ve been so frustrated by the quality of many of the CVs I received that on our application details we now include advice for applicants on how to present both their CV and supporting information. Hardly any applicants bother to do this!
Therefore, when you’re making applications look out for any information or tips a recruiter may provide. These may include providing contact details of someone who can give you more information about the job. You will be in the minority of applicants if you do and more likely to make the shortlist as a result.
Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
