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5 Things to Avoid When Writing Your CV

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Our Recruitment Consultants look at so many CV’s every day and they know exactly what makes a good CV and even more so, what makes a bad CV. If you want to impress a recruiter/hiring manager with your CV, avoid these very common mistakes.


Don’t Forget to Include Contact Details

You may just assume that sending your CV via email is enough for an employer to contact you, but often CVs get forwarded around and saved on hard drives/desktops so the original email you sent could get lost along with your contact email address. Always put your email address and contact number on your CV.


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Don’t Use Personal Details

It’s good to show your personality through your CV and give the hiring manager a sense of who you are, but some personal details are too personal for your CV. Avoid putting your relationship status on your CV e.g. married, divorced. It’s irrelevant information and it could affect you negatively. All a hiring manger wants to know at first is if you are suitable for the job, leave the personal stuff until you are in the job and getting to know the people you are working with.


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Don't Be Vague About Important Details 

Too often job seekers will state a percentage like “Increased social media engagement 100%” with no additional details or context. This leaves the hiring manager to assume the worst about your accomplishment. If you can't be specifc or give detail about a statistic, it's best to just leave it out.


Don’t Leave Gaps

Time frames are so important on CVs. Dates on your CV should be reflected by month to month time frames, as opposed to year to year. Often people will avoid putting dates on a CV or will try to be vague about the dates in order to hide unemployment gaps. This can look suspicious to employers. It’s better to be honest and give reasons for any gaps instead of trying to hide them.


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Don’t Include Graphics

Leave out fancy graphics, complicated formatting and decorative pictures where possible. They tend to make it more difficult for employers to read. Keep things simple, clear and detailed. If you work in Graphic Design or Marketing a more creative CV could be what makes you stand out to an employer, but avoid making it over complicated. A CV is supposed to outline your experience and skills and the last thing you want is an over complicated design diluting your message. If you want to showcase your work, you could send a ZIP file with a few examples, if you feel it's relevant.


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