WRITING A CV: THINGS TO AVOID WHEN WRITING CVs

Writing CVs is often difficult and very time consuming. Knowing what to focus on and what to avoid when writing a CV always helps, so Winning CV goes through some main things to avoid when writing CVs. Some useful tips and advice on writing CVs.

Writing CVs: Five Things NOT To Put In Your CV!

When submitting your CV to employers, you know it had better be good! The recruiter who is landed with the task of reviewing all applications will probably have a stack of CVs to go through, with on average, your career-moving masterpiece will only be seen for seven seconds. Here are five things to avoid to make sure your CV gets the attention it well and truly deserves.

1) Provide Irrelevant Personal Information

OK, so you might be proud of your baking skills and the amount of awards they have won in WI tents at country fairs the county over, or your ability to procrastinate the day away without knowing where the time has gone, but that is not going to land you that all important Insurance Job you are applying for. This useless information also takes up valuable space on that A4 sheet of paper and takes up 5 of those 7 valuable seconds.

2) Hide Important Information

When writing your CV, keep reminding yourself how little time you have to impress the reader. This will keep you from hiding information that tells the employer exactly why you should be chosen to take on this role. Put down everything that makes you qualified for the position, so you do not get overlooked.

Flip this around and it also goes for the little white lies so many people tag on to their CVs. Candidates are going to get found out and eventually this could end up in you losing the job you tried so hard to get!

3) Typos, bad spelling and bad formatting

If u snd off ur cv lk ths, u wl nt get da jb. Yeah!

This is the golden rule of CV writing, but one that so many people ignore or forget. Do not even bother sending it off if you are going to spell like you did in text messages when you were 14. You have a spell check function on your PC and you have friends who will be able to proof read it for you. So, use these resources to your advantage!

It is also worth formatting your CV so that it is screen-friendly. In this day and age, it is more likely that your CV will never see the light of day, but will forever remain a glowing word.doc on computer screens the country over. Stick with traditional fonts and steer clear from colours, crazy backgrounds and CAPS LOCK.

4) Unexplained Gaps in Employment

If you want to make an employer nervous, pothole your CV with unexplained gaps in employment. It will soon find its way to the nearest DELETED folder or paper recycling bin if you do this. Long periods of unemployment can mean anything from a career break travelling around South America to a jail sentence! If there are gaps, make sure these are explained and accounted for.

5) Waffle!

The key to a good CV is to keep it short and snappy. A long CV indicates job hopping (a major no-no to employers) or an inability to write concisely (another job hunt taboo). Focus on your most recent experiences and achievements rather than a job you had 25 years ago. If you must mention it, briefly put it in and explain why it is relevant.