The days of the traditional CV are dead. Today, the first touchpoint for your CV is likely to be onlinesoftware that searches your CV for relevant keywords that recruiters type in. So choose your words carefully, be relevant and succinct.
Rather than get bogged down by what you should include, here’s our top five of what you should leave out:
1. The words ‘CV’, ‘Résumé’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae’
Your potential employer will know it’s a CV. There’s no need to state the obvious. Rather, start with your name at the top, your phone number and email address, which should be professional – no wastedwayne69@hotmail.com! Also include your LinkedIn profile if appropriate. When it comes to your CV, every inch of paper is precious.
2. Photos, illustrations, videos, fancy fonts, colours and layouts
Anything that you think might be distracting usually is. And unless you are a videographer, video CVs are a novelty. Besides, your appearance has no bearing on how suitable you are for the job.
3. Personal details like age, DOB, address, nationality, marital status and children
So many people make the mistake of including their age and address on their CV, but this is sensitive information subject to various data protection and age discrimination legislation. You can always provide these details at a later stage.
4. Waffle, spelling and grammar mistakes and “I did this”
Long winding personal statements or superfluous words and adjectives turn people off. They don’t mean anything or add any value. All your employer is looking for is something that makes sense, backed up by logical, chronological proof. If you’re looking for graduate jobs, then don’t be afraid to use your degree experiences to reflect your work ethic and performance as you would with previous job experience. Don’t just say you did something, explain how you did it and what the results were. Stick to snappy bullet points though rather than wordy narrative in chunky paragraphs to make it easier for a hiring manager to scan.
5. Ten years or more…
You did an internship at a local radio station after you graduated? That’s great. But how exactly does that experience relate to the financial services job you’re applying for? CVs aren’t life stories; rather, they’re a condensed overview of your current, relevant career history.
