Over the past 5 years of reviewing CVs, we’ve seen a ton of errors and mistakes ranging from simple spelling mistakes to 7 (yes 7!) page CVs. We’re going to distil the 3 most important mistakes we see people make which are killing their applications

1. Communicating your experiences properly

The biggest issue people face with their CV isn’t necessarily the lack of relevant experience, it’s how they communicate that experience to hiring managers.

In every job you do, you are going to use numerous skills to perform your tasks and responsibilities. The key is clearly communicating those transferrable skills on your CV. We’ve helped individuals with only retail experience land roles in Consulting, Commercial Insurance and Project Management. The recurring theme was the ability to communicate their transferrable skills and impact (through statistics) for the roles.

2. Not focusing on putting relevant information on your CV

While your CV is meant to show your work history, it isn’t meant to include everything you’ve done. You should look at your CV as a one-page sales pitch which means only focusing on work experiences and/or tasks which are relevant to the role you’re applying for.

This may mean leaving out an internship which isn’t relevant or only focusing on specific tasks/projects in your roles which highlight value experience and skills. The key here is to use the job description as your guide to know what skills to include and what experiences are valuable.

3. Formatting

It sounds so simple but how you structure your CV will impact how it will be received. Remember recruiters scan your CV for roughly 8 seconds so what they see first is equally important alongside the content included. You want to keep the most valuable information to the top.

For example, depending on your level of experience , you can move your education to the bottom if you’re an experienced professional as it isn’t as relevant. Or if you have valuable skills or qualifications for your required role then you can move the ‘Skills & Qualifications’ section to the top of your CV below the professional summary.

The key is to make sure that the most important information can be seen quickly by the recruiter.

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