Do’s And Dont’s

Employers receive so many CVs for each position and therefore only has a limited time to read yours, below are a few Do’s and Don’ts to make sure your CV stand out from the crowd, and secure you that elusive interview.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s

  • Use a confident tone and positive language. Really think about the words you will use, especially when starting a sentence. Use words like intiated and delivered instead of started or given.

  • Create A Unique Profile. Make yourself stand out, highlight your background and skills showing what you can do. Make it sound interesting and as though you’ll fit into the company.

  • Tailor your CV to a role. Tailor your CV to the specific role your applying for. You can do this by looking at the Person Specification of the job advert. Use the language used in the job advert, to show you have interest and that will make them interested in you.

  • Mention dates. Never forget to mention dates consistently when creating your CV. List your most recent job/qualifications first and work your way back. If you do seem to have gaps, explain them properly.

  • Talk about your achievemnts. List what you have done like “increased sales” let them know that you are a doer not just a talker.

  • Encourage the employer to keep reading. Keep all your skills needed for the job you’re applying for on the first page as well as your success. This way you have the employer hooked and will keep reading your CV as opposed to discarding it.

  • Quality not quantity. It’s important that you outline your skills and successfulness. Don’t just write everything that you have done. This point proves that your CV’s should always be targeted.

  • Stand out from the crowd. Make sure you include other transferable skills especially if they are needed for the job. If your going for an administration job and you know you will be using a computer every day, remember to put in the CV you have high IT skills.

  • Keep to the point. Be concise, its good to talk about the skills to ensure your interview, but keep it brief. Make sure you just include what you need to, to get the interview.

  • Check, check and check again. Thoroughly check your CV for correct spelling and grammar. Read it out aloud or get someone to read to make sure the CV makes sense. Spelling mistakes can make you look careless and unfocused. You’ve got a spell-checker for a reason, use it!

  • Use relevant keywords. What we mean by this is, use some of the words and phrases the employer has used in either the job advert or the person specification. So if the employer says “person with creative skills”, mention in your CV something like “I am a creative person with many skills”.

  • Grab their attention. Prioritise the content of your CV so that the most relevant information concerning the job, hits them first. Make your personal profile punchy and to the point.

  • Explain where you fell you need to go into a ‘little’ more detail then do it. For example don’t just say BSc Degree in xxx, give a few words of explanation maybe end the sentence with a success in your degree.

Don’ts

  • Lie. This is the worst thing you can do. Remember your sending out a document that tells the employer about you. If you lie about the skills you have your not only wasting their time and yours, your also jeopardising your future.

  • Mention everything. Remember to only include what you think will help you secure the job. That’s the whole aim of writing the CV. You also don’t want to produce a long document that anybody would get bored of reading.

  • Be Downbeat. Avoid negative words, false modesty or inappropriate email addresses. Shocking a potential employer will not leave a good impression.

  • Use slang or abbreviations. The employer or recruiter who may not be familiar with abbreviations and technical jargon.

  • Quote irrelevant facts. Don’t mention things that have no connection with your career or the job. A fact like how many children is not important to someone who just wants to know “Do you have the skills”.

  • Include a photo Its not needed the only thing the employer is interested in are the skills you have. They can see you when you’re invited for an interview.

  • Get creative Don’t use colourful and strange colours you might think this will help the CV stand out, it wont. It will only make your CV look strange and employers will not want to read it

  • Give Out Personal Information. Never include your NI or passport number or any other information that is too private to give out.

  • Talk about me, me, me. Don’t talk in the first person. Avoid sayingthings like ‘I was the one who comprehensively implemented the systems’. Instead say something like ‘Selected to manage the system which resulted in the…’

  • Talk in cliches. Avoid phrases like ‘I am hard working highly motivated individual who works well in a team’. While this is a good employers have read sentences like this before. You may make them bored so try thinking of being unique and think of interesting ways to mention your skills.

  • Duplicate applications. Be organised make sure you only send out one CV for each application.

  • Be Vague. If you feel there is something that needs explaining make that clear, don’t assume that the employer or the recruiter will know this simply by reading your CV.