Why some CVs fall into the rejection pile

If you don't want your CV to fall into the rejection pile, then follow these great tips from the experts.

Computer skills

"You'd be surprised at the amount of people using space bars instead of tabs", says Fionnuala Gill, of Systemlink, "while applying for an office admin job which solely involves the use of computers. If you don't know what tabs are for, then you certainly shouldn't be saying that you have completed an ECDL course OR applying for an office job."

Spelling, grammatical and typing errors

Spelling mistakes on a CV are unacceptable and show carelessness. "If you can't put together a simple job application, then how are you going to perform on the job", says Fionnuala. Common examples she has come across include:

"Threw" instead of through
"Their" spelt as either they're or thier
Computor course
Me CV instead of My CV
Osf instead of "of"
"It's just carelessness" says Fionnuala "and your application will most certainly be rejected. And bad punctuation is another sure way to get your CV binned; for example, not using capital letters for months, etc."

Layout

The average recruiter only spends about 20 to 30 seconds glancing at a CV, which means that you have to grab their attention quickly. The reader should be able to get information from each line without having to work through lengthy paragraphs of text. The layout of a CV does not need to be complicated, says Fionnuala. "All I want to see for filtering is their education, qualification, if they've recently done their leaving, etc."

Obviously if your education is in the dim and distant past then you should not waste too much space on it, because your work experience will be far more important to the recruiter. "When describing previous work experience, use bullet points instead of paragraphs. Because first impressions are vital, the layout should be clear," says Fionnuala. Fonts should not be too big and there should be ample spacing.

Presentation

"Our biggest peeve is over-indulgent presentation", says John Kennedy of Kennedy Recruitment. "Folders, binders, stupid paper sizes, etc. are a nuisance. They are therefore ripped off before we even look at a C.V. If a C.V. must be sent in hard copy, it should be plain paper, plain font and NO cover with a staple in the corner. It is after all, heading straight to a scanner."

Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies and interests are generally not considered very important on a CV. However they may be able to tell a recruiter a lot about your personality, leadership potential and team working skills, so they should not be completely overlooked. "Putting down a hobby like Socialising, however, is not advisable. We don't want to hear about nights out on the town, only genuine interests and hobbies", says Fionnuala.

Personal Details

This SHOULD include your date of birth. Marital status and nationality are optional. "The person's Date of Birth is vital information because there are legal requirements with regard to age", according to John Kennedy of Kennedy Recruitment. "A person under 17, for example, cannot work for a Nursing agency without being given career advice by a third party. Also it can cause problems where a person, for example, is 28 years old, but whose experience only seemed to start 2 years ago."

Text files

"Text files are our preferable format", says John Kennedy. "We have a program that constantly monitors the network for CVs and converts them into text. If only they labelled them with their names!!! We receive about 100 CVs per day. Roughly 30 of them contain viruses. Although we obviously have virus scanning software, sending a potential employer a virus is a poor start. Text files don't usually carry viruses."

Apply for a job that is suitable for you

And finally, just remember to apply for a job that is suitable for you. For example, if the job involves answering the phone, you should not be heavily accented, advises Fionnuala. Also, if you are over-qualified for the job, it's obvious to HR managers that you are NOT going to work for the salary on offer.

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