I rarely go off topic on my blog. But this post is an exception. I read a lot of Resumes on a voluntary basis of young people mostly without work experience and looking for jobs in India. Here are the ten most common mistakes that can occur on a resume/CV
1. CV is too long: For a fresher one page CV is good. If you cannot restrict it to one page two pages are more than enough. A 20 page CV would surely head to the trash can in most of the cases.
2. CV has typographical errors: If we can not write one or two pages error free why should anyone hire us?
3. Balance between Black and White Spaces: If a CV is written on 10 font or smaller it will appear too black and reading it would be a strain on the eyes. A CV with lots of blank spaces (white spaces) gives an impression that we have nothing to say.
4. Burying important information somewhere in the middle: The opening of the CV is the prime space, do’nt put useless information there and bury the important ones in middle of other things.
5. The CV is not targeted to the job: The job wants you to be outgoing, good at teamwork and be able to work under stress. Your CV talks about C++, Numerical abilities and poetry writing. Is there a match between the job and the applicant?
6. Poor Formatting: There are many beautiful templates available on the net or with Microsoft Office. Use them, you can rarely go wrong with formatting then. The CVs look professional too.
7. i instead of I: Use of i instead of I irritates the hell out of the reader.
8. SMS Language: SMS language is for texting and maybe for FB but certainly not for your CV.
9. Objectives: Many employers in India still prefer to see what are your objectives at the top of the CV. Give it a clear thought. It is your prime selling space.
10. CVs off the net: If you pick up large parts of the CV from the internet, it is no longer about you! You know your strengths the best, if you do not put in the effort to showcase them, no one else can do it for you.
And as a bonus tip, if you asked someone for the feedback on your CV and came back with the same mistakes the next time around too, it once again irritates the hell out of them!
Off Topic? – NO.
Learning is a process. Patience and Practice is important for error-free.
Anyways, if I make self CV it will be less than one page – HA HA HA.
super post mridula ji…lemme update my cv properly..cheers n wishes
Ha..very true – word by word – point- by-point.
I was a HR while in India, and people (mostly freshers) used to send their CVs…I’ve seen all these issues with their CVs. The colleges should run workshops during their final year on how best to churn out their CV. I’ve personally delivered some such workshops in engineering colleges.
Next time I gonna mail you my CV for your comments……:)