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The top 3 CV mistakes and how to avoid them
Making just one mistake on your CV could prevent any chance you had of getting an interview. The worst part about your CV containing mistakes is that you may never even realise. This could continue to plague your career chances time and time again until you figure it out.
There are lots of different types of common mistakes that can easily be made. So we’ve narrowed it down to the 3 most popular.
Here’s our list of the top 3 mistakes made on a CV, and how you can avoid them…
Inappropriate e-mail address
If your e-mail address is something funny or silly, like ‘iambeautiful123@hotmail.com’, this is going to come across as unprofessional. It certainly won’t look very good on your CV!
Your email address is typically right at the top of the first page, along with your other contact details. So it will be one of the first things the hiring manager sees. Is the initial impression you want to make that you’re a joker and don’t take things seriously? For most careers this wouldn’t go down very well at all.
Overall, it can reflect negatively on the seriousness of your application. So we would always advise to use an e-mail address that contains your name – ‘john.smith859@yahoo.co.uk’. This is far more sensible, and stands no chance of annoying anyone. There is no reason to take a risk with something that seems so insignificant, so don’t do it.
In addition, creating a brand new email address specifically for job hunting has other perks. It will be much easier to see if anything important lands in your inbox, like a job offer for example. A new email address is less likely to be receiving daily spam, so you will see everything that comes through.
Spelling and grammatical errors
This is by far the most common mistake you’ll find on a CV, and will always continue to be present no matter how many times people use spell check. The best way to ensure your CV is completely error free is to have it checked by a professional.
Ideally your CV should be checked by someone who has experience with reading CVs and hiring. So a manager would be the ideal choice. You should also ask them to check your CV for its quality as an added bonus!
Did you know that on average every third CV the employer reads contains a spelling mistake? Click here to find out more on this Adzuna study.
Presentation
Taking care over how your CV looks is essential when it comes to making that all important great first impression. There are no second chances when it comes to how you present your information on a CV, so don’t be careless when it comes to choosing the right font, the right spacing, the right sections, the right margins, and so on.
A well presented, professionally designed CV will often make up for a lack of qualifications, skills and experience in a particular role. So if you have any doubts or concerns as to whether or not this will hinder your chances, making sure your CV is well presented is an essential step to take.
If you do however have everything the employer requested on the job advert, then ensuring your CV looks great is just another reason why the employer should hire you.
