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How to Prepare a Good CV

Draw out any harmful content that might raise negative thoughts in the mind of the recruiter.

You don't get two chances to make a first impression. Usually a potential employer will only have your CV (plus maybe a covering letter) on which to base their impression of you.

It's therefore only natural for you to want your CV to look as good as it possibly can. And part of that is about only including information that will make a positive impact on the employer. The reverse side of that particular coin is to excise any information that is likely to impact on the employer negatively.

Here are a few things that your CV will be better off without:

STRIP OUT SURPLUS CONTENT

We've already established that CVs are one-to-one marketing documents. They're about accentuating the positive. Applying for a job isn't the time to strip yourself naked before the CV jury and reveal yourself warts and all. Employers might appreciate your searing honesty, but you'll be unlikely to land an interview.

Sometimes knowing what to cut out of your CV is a matter of common sense, but sometimes it's a bit more of a judgement call.

In the common-sense category comes all the gratuitous information, i.e. information you've not been asked explicitly to provide that is likely to do your cause more harm than good if you include it. For example, an obsession with extreme sports might keep your stocks of adrenalin high, but it'll probably cause employers a frisson of concern. Likewise, mentioning the penalty points you have on your driving licence can only have a negative impact. Or listing your personal website if it happens to contain pictures of you mooning in Falaraki.

In the judgement call terrain, matters aren't quite so clear-cut. It's more about tone and nuance. Here's an example. Let's say that you're applying for a role that's 100% about dealing with customers face to face. Describing the face-to-face element of your current role ought therefore to get the recruiter's interest. If you devote, say, two bullet points out of four to this facet of your job, it will come over as a substantive part of what you do. However, if those two bullets are out of eight bullets, then you're beginning to dilute their impact by implying that you spend a lot of your time in non-customer-facing activity. Should you place the two bullets in the middle or towards the bottom of the eight, then that will diminish their effect further.

CLEAN UP SPELLING ERRORS

Employers have a nasty habit of assuming that anybody who makes a spelling mistake in their CV is likely to make mistakes on the job. At the very least, you're guilty of a lack of attention to detail.

The following bloopers were all taken from real CVs and covering letters:

I am very detail-oreinted.
Graduated in the top 66% of my class.
Special skills: Thyping.
Objection: To utilise my skills in sales.
I am a rabid typist.
Skills: Operated Pitney Bones machine.
Strengths: Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining composer.
Work Experience: Dealing with customers' conflicts that arouse.
Typing Speed: 756 wpm.

DETOX YOUR QUIRKY INDIVIDUALITY

No photo, no wacky fonts, no coloured paper, no jokes, no eccentric hobbies, no exclamation marks, no personal pronouns, no 'Curriculum Vitae' at the top of each page, no volunteered salary details, no mention of political affiliation, no early schooling details and no unnecessary repetition of facts.


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