12 things your CV should NOT have
12 things your CV should NOT haveWhile the rules listed are well-founded, they are not carved in stone. At times you will need to break the rules. If you want to add these things knowingly and purposefully to your CV we advise you to do that. ~ Colorful or glossy paper and flashy fonts
Your CV is a formal, official document. Keep it simple.
~ Resume or CV at the top
Many people tend to add headings to their CV. The usual are CV, Curriculum Vitae and Resume. Do not do this.
~ Photographs until asked
Do not add your photo to the CV until you have been asked for it. Photographs are required only for certain types of positions like models, actors etc.
~ Usage of 'I', 'My', 'He', 'She'
Do not use these in your CV. Many candidates write, 'I worked as Team Leader for XYZ Company' or 'He was awarded Best Employee for the year 2007'. Instead use bullet points to list out your qualifications/ experience like: Team leader for XYZ Company from 2006-2007.
~ Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
Proofread your CV until you are confident that it doesn't have any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. These are big put-offs for the recruiters. Moreover, sometimes these mistakes might land you in an embarrassing situation. A candidate who submitted his CV without proofreading it committed the mistake of wrongly spelling 'ask' as 'ass'. Now you can imagine the type of embarrassment he must have faced during the interview, when the interviewer pointed it out. These mistakes tend to convey a lazy and careless attitude to the interviewer.
~ Lies about your candidature
Do not lie about your past jobs or qualifications or anything which might have an impact on the job. You may be able to secure a job with these lies today but tomorrow you may lose it as well.
~ Abbreviations or jargon that is difficult to understand
People screening your resume usually belong to the HR department. If they do not understand what the abbreviations and jargon mean, they will simply dump your CV in the trash can. Avoid over-using such terms as far as possible.
~ Reasons for leaving last job
Leave these reasons to be discussed during the personal interview. For example, some candidates write: Reason for leaving the last job: Made redundant. Avoid making such statements in your CV, they add no value. Besides, if you do get an interview call, chances are the interviewer will address the issue.
~ Past failures or health problems
Mentioning these immediately slash your chances of getting an interview call. For instance, you have a gap in your employment because you started your own business which did not do well. Some candidates might write -- Reason for gap in employment: Started own business which failed. Do not do this type of injustice with your job hunt at this stage of writing the CV.
~ Current or expected salary
Leave it to be discussed while negotiating the salary.
~ Irrelevant details
Leave out the details like marital status, sex, passport number, number of kids, age of kids. These are usually irrelevant for most interviewers but at times could be used as a basis for discrimination.
~ References
Do not include them until asked. In fact, it is not even required to mention the line 'Reference available on request'. If the recruiter requires a reference, he/she will ask you to bring it along for the interview.Now that you have run through the list, take a fresh look at your CV and prune away unnecessary details and unaffordable blunders that could have cost you your dream job.
(Originally published by Kshipra Singh in Rediff)
In gulf countries, the basis of recruitment is gender, marital status and number of children and those who don't know it usually walk into a trap which ultimately results in quitting. My suggestion is you highlight these personal details because they will help you in salary negotiations.
Hi Mr. Charansoi.
The reason for leaving last job is an intention to identify about your own self. The person who is interviewing you will get some perceptions about you from the answer for that question.
Discipline is very important in any kind of jobs..
Thank You.
Good points..
I agree with the very first point, that's writing resume on your c.v
Rest of the points, it's needed in gulf, maybe that rediff guy really needs to apply somewhere for job, than sitting idle making what should be in the c.v
... need a brief introduction on the top (after the personal data) to say where this person worked from date A to date B under which category. This is to avoid a boring long CV being discarded because the 'reader' can't be asked reading it as it is sooooooooo detailed! If the person who is offering the job sees something in there that interests them then they will continue reading.
" Resume or CV at the top. "
I've seen a lot of CV's with the heading of the words curriculum vitae. and most often it is spelled wrong.
it's like, a fridge labelled "Refrigerator" on the door
or a laptop the has a LAPTOP word on it.
A cv will obviously look like one, won't it? so adding such is redundant.
Thanks for this post abe.
very nice.............khow much
"He said I was ugly and I couldn't read good"
--Dave Chappell (1973 - to-date)
Yes Absolutejaguar. I have seen a job ad in my home country that requests applicants to hand write application letters and CV in calligraphy. And that is for a senior position. They want to know other sides of applicants.
Think2
I personally dislike reading CVs with fancy fonts on coloured paper. Unecessary fluff.
I also like to have a photo attached.
[img_assist|nid=57389|title=|desc=peace|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0] _______________________________________________________ Love is the answer...
I agree think twice, I've heard of people applying for IT jobs that have been advised to hand write their CV to show potential employers they have other skills beside the obvious, also friends of mine who where graphic designers made up small bound books with examples of their work, over the top of which was laid paragrpahs of their CV.
Hi,
This point:
~ Colorful or glossy paper and flashy fonts
Your CV is a formal, official document. Keep it simple
Not necessarily. In industries like advertising and positions requiring creativity, 'unconventional' CV certainly adds values about the applicant. In my homecountry, a very famous interior designer once said that he made his CV on a piece of toilet paper when applying to the company he worked for!
Think2
You mention:
Irrelevant details. These are essential in the Gulf and are not discriminatory. Marital status, number and age of children are necessary to establish the true cost of recruiting the employee. Such elements as housing, school fees and annual leave tickets form a large portion of the package.
Dweller ... hear hear the expert of Human Resources business
" Reasons for leaving last job" - My answer will be That is non of your business. You hire me for what I am capable of doing that. Not because of my previouss job. This stupid question has been asked by almost all interviewers
With some of these as they are essential (certainly in the Gulf)