Top 10 CV Mistakes That Drive Recruiters Mad

Avoid These Common Mistakes That Cause Recruiters to Say "No"

You know that recruiters spend just seconds reviewing a CV.

When they're trying to narrow down a stack of CVs, it's often the little things that cause them to stop reading and move on to the next applicant.

We review hundreds of CVs and see the same mistakes over and over.

We also work with recruiters to understand what they look for when reviewing applications.

You'll notice that many of the issues we discuss may seem minor at first glance.

Your CV is your first (and potentially only) chance to make the right first impression, though!

While a missing full stop or small typo may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, here's what they tell a recruiter:

• You didn't bother to re-read your work before submitting
• You have poor attention to detail
• You're careless

Any error or inconsistency on your CV causes you to lose credibility before you even had a chance to build it up, no matter how small.

Your CV is only one to two pages long.

You have every opportunity to make sure it's absolutely perfect before submitting it.

When your future career is at stake, put in the effort to make sure you get it right.

Assume there will be no “benefit of the doubt” given by time-strapped recruiters who need to review hundreds of applications!

Before you hit submit, run through our top 10 CV mistakes to make sure yours is spot-on:

1) Making typos and grammar errors

Your spelling and grammar need to be correct.

I always recommend printing out your CV on paper and reading it out loud.

Slowly.

Word-by-word.

You simply can’t rely on automatic spell checkers to catch everything.

In fact, they often cause you additional problems!

Double-check for missing or incorrect punctuation and any sentence structure issues as well.

There are clear-cut rules for using commas, for example: 99% of the time, they are not optional!

You shouldn’t simply place a comma where you would naturally pause when speaking and assume it is correct.

2) Using words incorrectly

There are some English words that can be easily confused, even by a native speaker.

The most common mistakes we see in this category include: 

• effect vs affect
• principal vs principle
• then vs than
• who's vs whose
• it vs it's
• your vs you’re
• their vs there

We won't go into the granular detail here, but if you're concerned, see this article on commonly misused words and phrases.

3) Incorporating clichés and buzzwords

Your mother is allowed to refer to you by clichés, but your CV should not!

Try to avoid generic language that adds nothing to building your unique profile in the mind of an employer:

• Experienced
• Passionate
• Skilled
• Motivated
• Excellent
• Successful

Simply put, let your experience speak for itself.

Provide concrete examples and evidence of the contributions you can bring to an organisation.

If you would feel awkward reading a line of your CV to someone you just met at a networking event, remove it.

We often come across career summaries making generic statements along the lines of:

I'm a successful, driven revenue management professional with over a decade of proven experience driving excellent results for my clients.

We recommend skipping the professional summary altogether.

Instead, simply state the facts using a bullet point in the context of your work experience:

• Implemented revenue management strategies based on booking trends to increase year-on-year revenue by 25%

9) Spending too much time on your objectives and skills

Your CV should tell your story.

We have seen very few (if any) objectives, professional summaries, or skills sections at the top of a CV that have provided anything more than generic, overused industry buzzwords.

Might such a strategy help your CV pass ATS scans?

Possibly.

However, naturally integrating these keywords in the context of your work experiences is a much more effective and believable way of proving that you are "highly motivated" and have "excellent communication skills."

5) Telling instead of showing

This point is often the distinguishing factor between an average CV and one that truly impresses employers and lands an interview.

You need some bullet points to explain what you were doing on a day-to-day basis.

However, make sure that you are also demonstrating what you did using concrete examples instead of generalisations.

For example, compare the following two statements:

• Created Excel model used to analyse company labour costs
• Developed an Excel model used to analyse company labour costs and optimise scheduling, resulting in a 14% reduction in payroll expenses

Both bullet points are addressing the same point, but the second is more effective because it demonstrates the results of creating the model.

It's also more interesting to read!

6) Writing without parallel construction

Parallel construction simply means that all of your phrases should use similar grammatical constructions, which make them easier to read.

All of your bullet points should begin with an action verb, for example.

Parallel:

- Spearheaded...

- Organised...

- Led...

Not parallel:

- In charge of...

- Responsible for...

- Received...

7) Formatting inconsistently

Your formatting must be consistent.

All headings and body text should be in the same font and size.

The amount of spacing after each section should be equal.

When designing your CV in Word, we recommend using separate styles for your headings, subheadings and bullet points to save time and ensure 100% consistency.

8) Writing a book

Candidates often ask us how long their CVs should be.

The irritating answer is: it depends.

If you are a very senior executive or held several back-to-back contract roles in IT, it may be difficult to effectively convey what you accomplished without spilling onto a second page.

But in our opinion, even the Prime Minister should be able to put together a solid one-page CV.

Remember that the goal of your CV is to::

• Pique the employer's interest
• Convince them that you're a suitable candidate for the job
• Get them to invite you for an interview

A CV can be too long.

If it is, an employer may simply not read it.

9) Writing in first person

Your entire CV should be written in the third person.

Save first-person writing for your cover letter.

This strategy is generally considered more professional and allows you save precious words, maximising the limited space you have to make your case.

10) Forgetting to include or update contact information

It should go without saying, but as a bare minimum, your CV needs to include your current email address and telephone number.

You would be surprised how many CVs we come across that are missing this information!

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About CV Pilots

CV Pilots is an award-winning executive CV writing firm and a proud member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Our previous clients include CEOs and senior executives at the world's leading companies.

As a professional services firm, we take your reputation seriously. We are committed to delivering writing excellence and superior service while operating with integrity and discretion. Recruitment firms we partner with also trust us to consistently deliver quality documents for their clients.

Our writers have studied at top-tier universities and have strong writing backgrounds coupled with industry experience.

Here's how we can help you:

CV, Cover Letter and LinkedIn Writing Services: If you are looking for end-to-end support, hire one of our professional CV writers to rewrite your documents from the ground up. 

Executive CV Template Downloads: If you plan to prepare your own CV, consider using one of our classic, ATS-friendly CV templates for Microsoft Word.

To learn more about our services, book an introductory call with our founder here or email team@cvpilots.co.uk.

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