CV Do's and Don'ts

Posted by Broomham Recuitment on 8th January 2021 -

With the government’s new guidelines regarding coronavirus, you may find yourself working from home and suddenly not only having a lot of time on your hands but thinking about a career change.

We’ve come up with a list to help you tweak your CV should you fancy a change of job.

What to include

An accurate and up to date job history with lists of your responsibilities and job role:

This is really helpful for hiring managers as it gives a full spec of what you have been doing and what your skills are, and they can compare them to what they are looking for, make sure to include information such as what computer systems and CRM systems you are familiar with and give good detail but not so much that you make them lose interest and it becomes too long to read

A brief summary about yourself that is relevant to the job you are applying to:

When writing your personal summary it is a great chance to sell yourself as a person and highlight your interesting hobbies and characteristics however you should always make sure it is relevant to what you are applying to, for example, if you have applied for a role as an estate agent you should talk about your relevant skills and not have listed in your bio that you are seeking a role in customer service.

A good format and layout

As a hiring manager, there is nothing worse than struggling to read a CV that has been laid out poorly, 9 times out of 10 it will be binned straight away, You want the CV to read nicely and not be a chore to understand otherwise the reader will lose interest very quickly.

Extra skills and qualifications

When you submit your CV your objective is to wow the reader, so in your skills section make sure to include interesting things such as if you are multilingual, if you have achieved any certifications, extra training, attended any conferences or awards that you have won

Up to date contact information

When you are submitting a CV for a job it is important that your contact information is correct, otherwise you may someone wanting to interview you but not being able to call you! Or if you have an old address on there you may not be considered for the job as the hiring manager may feel that the commute isn’t viable! Also, as a side note, there is absolutely no requirement to have your NI number on your CV and this will not affect the recruitment process.

What not to include

Too much creativity

Making your CV neat and well presentable is so important, but you want to avoid using loads of bright colours and pictures of things you don’t need to as it can make your CV look unprofessional. Keep the all text the same colour and font and try to avoid the use of pictures.

Copy and pasted overviews/cover letters

There is nothing more unprofessional or unattractive than some information on the top of your CV or a cover letter that is so clearly copied and pasted and unoriginal, this is your chance to really sell yourself as a person so why would you want to waste that opportunity by copying and pasting something that doesn’t capture and reflect the real you and potentially ruins the chances of an interview.

Too many personal details

In the society we live in today we are so well protected against discrimination and there are laws out there to protect everyone no matter who you are so there is no need to include too much personal information on your CV as this can lead to you being discounted from a job that you are perfectly capable of doing, for example, you are not required to state your sex, religion, marital status or number of kids and others. The only things you need to include are your name, address and contact details.

Poor English / grammar

It is reported that over 50% of CV’s contain some sort of grammatical or spelling mistake, this can reflect really badly on you when applying for a job so take extra precaution when writing your CV and ask someone to look over it for you to see if they can see anything you missed.

Lies or misleading information

Most employers or hiring managers will check your references so writing something that isn’t true or is an exaggeration of the truth on your CV could result in you losing a job that they may have felt you were qualified enough for anyway, it is always best, to be honest, and transparent on your CV.

If you need any other tips or any general questions about your CV, we are always here to answer questions – 01865 411522