When it comes to CVs and job interviews, there's a lot that can go wrong.
Just ask Tina Nicolai — she's read 40,000 CVs since launching her career advice business Résumé Writers' Ink in 2010.
Over the years, Nicolai says that certain annoying mistakes tend to come up quite a lot, from typos to buzzwords.
Some of these errors might not seem like a huge deal. In a competitive job market, though, they might be the difference from snagging your dream job and having your CV thrown in the garbage.
Here are Nicolai's picks for the most annoying mistakes you can make - and the one slip-up that she reckons is the most irritating of all:
1. Sloppiness
"The biggest mistake job seekers make: They are sloppy. They pay poor attention to detail", Nikolai explains.
She says she has seen too many CVs with typos, unprofessional fonts, outdated information, and irrelevant information.
2.Summaries that are too long
Summaries are annoying when they are written in a formal tone and include too many adjectives, she says.
"After a while, the summaries can read like a lengthy chapter in a book. It's better to list a few bullets with pointed achievements and a branded tag line stating, 'known for achieving XYZ."
3. Too many buzzwords
Human resources jargon such as 'out-of-the-box,' 'team player,' and 'exceptional communicator' are "baseline expectations in today's market," Nicolai says. "A person who truly is a 'unique problem solver who works well in teams' will convey this succinctly and creatively on their résumé through a combination of few words and imagery."
4. Being too formal
Nikolai finds overly formal CVs annoying because they're not engaging and don't allow the reader to get a good sense of the applicant's personality.
5. Sticking to a template
Too many people rely on CV templates, which are readily found online.
"Templates are designed as a guide and not intended to be used as a cookie cutter," Nikolai says. "Think of a template as a suit. A person wears a suit and adapts to his or her personal style.
"A résumé template is a framework to showcase your personal brand and most importantly your achievements."
6. Using awkward white space
"More often than not, candidates use too much or too little 'white space," Nikolai explains.
"Cramming too many words on one page with tiny margins and small font is annoying. And, on the reverse, having oceans of 'white space' with words justified to one side or the other of the CV is equally annoying."
7. Taking up too much space with your contact information
You should not be using four lines to list your name, address, email, and phone number.
"Save face by removing the address and condensing your name, phone number, and email to one line," Nicolai recommends. "Using your resume real estate (lines) is valuable and should be used for related achievements.
8. And the biggest CV blunder of all... Starting a bullet point with 'responsible for'
"When lines start with 'responsible for' and are repeated, it sends a message that the candidate didn't invest time in preparing for a position," Nikolai says. "It is often used when candidates don't know how to write an appropriate resumé or they also don't really know what they achieved.
"Sally may be 'responsible for' increasing sales in her division, however, if she doesn't tell the story of her actual sales results, we have no way to measure her performance."
Nicolai provided an example on how to take "responsible for" out of the equation:
- Poor statement: "Responsible for increasing sales over last year"
- Good statement: "Achieved 20 per cent increase over last year by increasing foot traffic through compelling marketing strategy targeted to niche consumer."
So when it comes to your own CV, stay away from the generic "responsible for" and get creative with your verbs.
This story is a compilation of stories that first appeared in Business Insider. Read them here and here, or follow BusinessInsider Australia on Facebook.
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