In today’s competitive market, a curriculum vitae (CV) is one of the main tools that can land you a job. If you are an aspiring student and currently seeking a job, chances are you have looked up the formula for a perfect CV online. And you will find many articles discussing the aforementioned topic. However, there are a lot fewer articles that highlight the things which decrease the credibility of a CV.
Here are a couple of things you might want to look out for before you write your CV.
1. Keep away from clichéd phrases
It is redundant to fill your CV with clichéd phrases such as “I am a workaholic” or “I’m a perfectionist”. Cliched phrases or buzzwords contribute to making the CV unnecessarily long and they do not particularly add any value. Hence, it is better to avoid using such phrases and buzzwords.
2. Exclude Personal Details
Imagine yourself from the perspective of an employer: if you looked at a CV and saw it filled with personal details of the applicant such as religion, parents’ names, etc., what impression would it create? Chances are you would not like that CV as personal information doesn’t create any value or make the applicant stand out from the rest. Rather, it would increase the chances of triggering biases. So, it is ideal to not include irrelevant personal details.
3. Don’t mention references
References are a tool that can greatly help you in terms of getting a job. However, listing these references on your CV is not necessary unless you are specifically asked to. This is because, at some point in the recruitment process, everyone has to show their references so mentioning them in your CV is needless.
4. Avoid Misleading Information
Among all the points in this listicle, this one is probably the one you should follow the most sincerely. You should not provide wrong information under any circumstance. According to Response Web Recruitment, 50% of people admit to lying in their CV to embellish it. Because of availability of online resources, recruiters can easily check up an important fact. If the recruiters decide to check up and find misinformation in your CV, it is highly likely you won’t be getting a hold of the job you are applying for.
5. Don’t include self-validating statements
A lot of people tend to include self-validating statements such as “Highly experienced designer” or “Visionary content writer” in their CVs to impress the recruiters. Moreover, there is also a group of people who include their soft skills such as leadership or teamwork using bar charts or percentages in their CV. Bar charts or percentages can be a bit difficult to judge. Using proficiency level instead of bar charts is preferable as it helps the employer understand your skill-level more accurately. Self-praising statements do not help the recruiters judge you in any way so it is better to mention your skills but not to overexaggerate.
6. Avoid Generic Greeting
In the cover letter which you may be sending with your CV, you should not use generic greetings such as “Dear sir/ma’am”. Using such greetings makes the employer think you have not put proper effort into the letter. Instead, it is better to find out the name of the employer and then address it to that name. If it’s absolutely impossible to collect the name of the recruiter, as a last resort, you can use something generic such as “Dear Hiring Manager”.
Have you found this blog helpful? If you did, make sure to use as many of these tips the next time you are sending your CV for a job.
