Professional CV Writing: Horrors

Yesterday, we put up an article about Professional CV Tips, going through the major points of Professional CV Writing. One of the steps was to get some CV Help, getting three friend and making use of our Free CV Review Service to check through your CV before a Job Application.

Today, I thought it would be good to step through some CV Horrors, things that just don’t work to get you employed – at all! The examples I have used either come from my own experience as a recruiter and CV Writer, with quotes from real CVs and cover letters printed in the July 21, 1997 issue of Fortune Magazine:

CV Horrors: English language

Almost everyone these days will be using some form of word processing software, which in its main menu will have a spell checker. Every time you save your CV, and every time you save it before sending it out in a job application, use the  spell checker to make sure all is right. That is stage1 of the process, but remember all that a spell checker does is check whether the words used actually exist in a dictionary. Some modern spell checkers check grammar, but few check it as well as you or a friend actually reading your CV out loud. If you don’t do this at least once to what you consider your final basic CV, then the errors contained with it will get you rejected by at least 10% of readers. Examples include:

• I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet programs
• Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year
• Reason for leaving last role: maturity leave

CV Horrors: wages and salary

You should never, ever mention wage demands in any initial or follow up correspondence. Only once the job is outlined and the employer know should you ask about the package. I never advise anyone to focus on wages during package negotiations, but always ask what’s in the package. Why? Most operational and HR managers have a wages budget set by the accounting or board, and have to sit within that. You can push it so far, but eventually it won’t go any further. In a package, there is access to training budget, additional holidays, better car, improved health benefits, in fact almost anything you could want. So why focus on wages when package can get you further? For instance:

• I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience

CV Horrors: negativity

If you use a STAR write-up format, then you will know that negativity doesn’t work. It should always end positively, or at least with a what was learnt/what I would do differently next time conclusion. Employers don’t like to employ, let alone know they have employed losers and failures, unless they know that the likelihood of you failing again on the same issue is minimised. For instance:

• Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions
• Failed bar exam with relatively high grades
• Its best for employers that I not work with people
• I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing
• I procrastinate, especially when the task is unpleasant
• Note: Please don’t misconstrue my 14 jobs as job-hopping. I never quit a job

CV Horrors: personal details….

A CV, and most specifically a job application, should focus on how and why you are the best person for that job. As a recruiter, I couldn’t care less initially who or what you are, as long as you have the minimum skills, qualifications and experiences to do the job. Hence, why put in any distracting information which means you make it harder for me to come to that conclusion, if at all? Would you prefer to read a job application which answers “you want, I have” or would you want to wade through 20pages of “me, me, Me!”

• Marital status: single. Unmarried. Unengaged. Uninvolved. No commitments
• I was working for my mom until she decided to move
• Marital status: Often. Children: various

CV Horrors: human, not robotic

As Julian Richer of Richer Sounds says in his customer service guarantee document you get when ever you buy any product from one of his shops:

We try hard, but we’re only human! Due to recent changes in government legislation, our lawyers tell us that it is necessary to employ real people in our stores. Although we think they are the best you’ll find, please don’t expect the impossible.

I love this quote when reading some CV’s which are over written, and it also applies to job applicants who think they have a horrible work history and will ever get employed ever again. Employers expect normal and connected human beings NOT robotic perfection. So don’t be too over positive:

• Lets meet, so you can ooh and aah over my experience
• You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time
• Am a perfectionist and rarely if ever forget details

CV Horrors: self contradiction

I see this one pop up again and again, but less regularly than it did. If it does occur, then its normally with those who are being negative about themselves. They write one thing, and then instantly – contradict themselves. If you do this, why apply in the first place? Thank you for just making it easy for me to reject you:

• I am loyal to my employer at all costs…. Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voice mail
• My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I possess no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage

CV Horrors: former employers

Probably the worst and most common mistake in Professional CV writing. Prospective employers don’t care if you failed or made a mistake, they just focus on how right you are for their job. Once you get into the interview, then focus on the what you learnt over the what you failed on. Honest, if you failed and learnt you are probably a better employee than one who has never failed. But when you fail and are negative about a former employer, then instant rejection is within your grasp:

• Reason for leaving last job: They insisted that all employees get to work by 8.45 a.m. every morning
• The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers
• References: None. I’ve left a path of destruction behind me

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Unemployed Teacher

Claire asks: I’m unemployed and cant get a job. What do I do? I’m a teacher. I have two years temporary experience and due to cut backs in education have found it impossible to find anything. I’ve sent hundreds of CVs and driven to loads of schools. Starting to feel like rubbish about the whole thing. It’s such a mess. Was talking to a few principals where there are jobs going and they are literally getting hundreds of applications for one job. I have a good CV but haven’t even been called for one interview. It’s hard seeing my friends get up in the morning and go off to their permanent teaching jobs. It’s embarrassing meeting people and having them asking me for the last few months if I have a job. What can I do?

In answer:
Firstly, sorry to hear about your situation Claire – honestly, you will get something soon with that drive of yours.

Secondly, there is lots of new competition in the market. In part that is driven by former graduates from the commercial world coming into the teaching world. As they are both new and fairly well remunerated from previous work, they are happy to take lower wages. It makes the market tougher.

Employment in measurement

Do you know why after all these applications why you keep getting rejected? Feedback is the key to eventual employment. If you are not getting 1 interview in 5 job applications, then the problem is in your CV or jobs you are applying for. Other wise, it is in the interview stage.

I suggest you register with some temp agencies and get some stand-in work. As the winter comes on, some one will go down ill. Plus holiday is often the time many conceive, so teachers regularly go on maternity leave.

My cousin and her husband have both built successful teaching careers on being permanent temporary teachers. It gives them the flexible lifestyle they want for their family, and makes their skills appreciated as they are constantly learning new things to apply elsewhere.

Don’t give up, listen to feedback, and recognise the opportunities that do exist – if you have enthusiasm for the art and profession of teaching

Good Luck!

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If you need an interview winning solution, sign-up for our Professional CV service

If you want to check the suitability of your existing CV, then get a FREE CV review

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CV Typing Service

CV Typing Service versus Professional CV Writers – the difference shown!

When I found this example at Yahoo! Answers, I thought that rather than trying to explain the difference between a CV typing service and a professional CV writing service like CV4.biz, this shows what you should expect:

Jay Jay asks: I am updating a CV for a client who has had a full work history. How many years should I go back and should I make reference to the earlier years of employment? I know that CVs are not to be any more than 2 pages nowadays. Any suggestions would be most helpful.

One of her responders Cari says:

Just curious, why is this person your “client” – i.e. paying you to write/edit/whatever their CV – if you don’t know the answer to questions such as this?

To which Jay Jay’s reply is:

In answer to Cari’s question: I’m merely typing up her manuscript but the way she was describing what she had written sounded as though she had a lot of information. I’m aware that the format of CVs have changed over the years and I have found up to date templates but I was unsure if the “10 year rule” still applied which is why the question was asked in the first place!

Hmm – so not only is she using Yahoo! Answers to ask what should be fairly simple CV questions within her grasp of the service she offers her clients, but she also uses CV Templates!

I will be quite open here, and say that we do on occasions answer the odd question on some social network forms, including LinkedIn and Yahoo! Answers. We consider it part of the marketing of the service and professional difference of CV4.biz to try and guide candidates towards creating a better CV – hopefully, by employing us having seen the difference a paid-for professional service can offer. In fact, so good at answering questions at Yahoo! Answers have we been, that we have been banned from answering questions there on more than one occasion – oh well, their loss!

If you employ a typing service, then please make sure that you know what you have bought – a typing service, not professional CV Writing.

Good Luck!

For an interview winning solution, sign-up for our Professional CV service

Resume, Curriculum Vitae or CV?

photo credit: viaphoto

Jennifer asks: From a North American perspective, technically, the resume and the CV are two very different documents, but those terms are often used interchangeably, which seems to create confusion for everyone involved (including me!). We often have students that come in saying an employer has requested a CV, not knowing if the employer really wants a resume or a true CV, or what the difference is. My understanding has always been that the resume’s primary focus is experience, while the curriculum vitae’s focus is scholarly pursuits (i.e. research, publications, conferences, etc.). Based on this, there are very few industries for which a true CV is required, and they are used most frequently by people with doctoral degrees (most of us wouldn’t really have anything to put on a CV!). The structure, content, and expectations of a CV are very different than that of a resume. So I think it is confusing to job seekers, for example, when people say “Your CV shouldn’t exceed 2 pages in length.” Since they list everything, CVs are often 30+ pages in length! I’d like to get feedback on how you use these 2 terms, either when hiring or providing job search assistance. Do you use them interchangeably? Does the term CV have a different meaning in your industry? If so, what do you expect to see in this document?

In Answer:
A few mixed metaphors and meanings there.

For a physical paper/s that summarise your skills for a job or post, or your career history, in two pages or more, the terms are:

• Resume is the standard term in North America
• Curriculum Vitae is the standard term in all other English speaking locations around the world (often in those shortened to CV, occasionally replaced by Resume by younger age groups), and all French speaking locations
• In Germany its called a Lebenslauf

There is an amendment to the above, where by some US Ivy League university people, educators and scientists with long academic qualifications use the term Curriculum Vitae when referring to their full resume, as opposed to a two page piece created for a job application. Personally, I think the term portfolio is a better word to use, as then many other relevant pieces to a lifetime of work and achievement can be inserted.

I hope that helps – Good Luck!

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HR, Recruiters and CV’s

photo credit: cliff1066

Many people ask, how do HR professionals and recruiters review and vet/select CV‘s?

The first person in most recruitment offices who touches your CV will not be the recruiter in charge of recruiting for that job. In most offices, it will be either their assistant, normally called a researcher, or an officer junior. They will have been given a clear and precise brief to reject anyone who does not meet the basic skills requirements. So that is what they search for, to create a pile of CV’s for the recruiter to review. This process will reduce the pile of applications by around 2/3rds in most cases.

The recruiter in charge of the job will judge you on the appearance of your CV. If it lacks signs of originality and creative thinking – such as the use of a CV template – you may not get the interview even when you are the best candidate for the job. A basic check here is to hold your CV at arms length, so you can’t read the words – too much white, or too much black are both bad.

Most recruiters still at this point have piles of CVs to evaluate and have limited time for the assessment. They normally scan through the stack of CV’s and throw out anything that is not interesting enough. Only the short list gets a second look. The whole process is based on the content, format, lay-out and originality. It is thus worth the effort to be original.

The four stages of selection can be summarized in the following way:

• First glance: if the office does not use a CV Scanning system, then a researcher will fulfil the same basic purpose. The researcher will glance at the first page of each CV and if it fulfils the basic skills requirements it will be kept. They won’t look at the second page unless the basic skill requirements are met on page one – a scanning system will scan the whole CV, but only include information form page2 for the database system. The longest CV’s normally end up in the bin unless a full history of the candidate is required. The CV must be three or less pages, and ideally two pages. CV’s without an introduction or quick summary of the candidate and the skills or relevant qualifications also get placed in the rubbish bin. Long descriptive paragraphs and sentences earmark the CV for the bin – ideally, keep sentences at 10words or below. Poor formatting and grammar mistakes are also frowned upon. After the first glance there are usually only a third of the CVs left
• Second glance: now the recruiter will take their first look at each remaining CV to establish whether the applicant’s skills, qualifications, career history and motivation match the job requirements. The recruiter must be able to identify this from the first page of the CV
• The in-depth look: the remaining CV’s are visually scanned and then matched with all the job description criteria. The CV’s are not thrown out any longer – these candidates could fulfil other jobs vacancies – but the best possible candidates are picked
• Final examination: only at this stage that the recruiter examines the content from the rest of the CV in more detail. They are looking for those skills, signs of innovative thinking, leadership, trustworthiness, and specific achievements that make the candidate right for the specific job.

As the candidate, you must ensure that your CV survives the elimination stages and still stands out enough to get the interview. Relevance and engagement within the first page is the assured route to the final pile, the rest of the content and lay-out determines whether you get a telephone call let alone the interview. To ensure your CV reaches the final pile, make use of free CV review services.

Good Luck!

If you need an interview winning solution, sign-up for our Professional CV service