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29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv - Jobs/Vacancies - Nairaland

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29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by sawdonline: 5:32pm On Jun 10, 2016
get your Cv rite is one of the most important part to landing that dream job. If you don't get your CV right, it make landing your dream job an impossibility
Hiring managers receive an average of 75 CVs per position they post, according to CareerBuilder.com.
So they don't have the time or resources to review each one closely, and they spend approximately six seconds on their initial "fit/no fit" decision .
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by sawdonline: 5:33pm On Jun 10, 2016
1. An objective.
If you applied, it's already obvious you want the job.
The exception: If you're in a unique situation, such as changing industries completely, it may be useful to include a brief summary.
2. Irrelevant work experiences.
Yes, you might have been the "king of making milkshakes" at the restaurant you worked for in high school. But unless you are planning on redeeming that title, it is time to get rid of all that clutter.
But as Alyssa Gelbard, career expert and founder of career-consulting firm Résumé Strategists, points out: Past work experience that might not appear to be directly relevant to the job at hand might show another dimension, depth, ability, or skill that actually is relevant or applicable.
Only include this experience if it really showcases additional skills that can translate to the position you're applying for.
3. Personal stuff
Don't include your marital status, religious preference, or Social Security number.
This might have been the standard in the past, but all of this information is now illegal for your employer to ask from you, so there's no need to include it.
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by sawdonline: 5:36pm On Jun 10, 2016
4. Your hobbies
Employers don't care about your out-of-work hobbies
Nobody cares.
If it's not relevant to the job you're applying for, it's a waste of space and a waste of the company's time.
5. Blatant lies.
A CareerBuilder survey asked 2,000 hiring managers for memorable résumé mistakes, and blatant lies were a popular choice. One candidate claimed to be the former CEO of the company to which he was applying, another claimed to be a Nobel Prize winner, and one more claimed he attended a college that didn't exist.
Rosemary Haefner, chief human-resources officer at CareerBuilder, says these lies may be "misguided attempts to compensate for lacking 100% of the qualifications specified in the job posting."
But Haefner says candidates should concentrate on the skills they can offer, rather than the skills they can't offer.
"Hiring managers are more forgiving than job seekers may think," Haefner explains. "About 42% of employers surveyed said they would consider a candidate who met only three out of five key qualifications for a specific role."
6. Your age.
If you don't want to be discriminated against for a position because of your age, it's time to remove your graduation date, says Catherine Jewell, author of " New Résumé, New Career."
Another surprising way your résumé could give away your age: double spaces after a full stop.
7. Too much text
When you use a 0.5-inch margin and eight-point font in an effort to get everything to fit on one page, this is an "epic fail," says J.T. O'Donnell, a career and workplace expert, founder of career-advice site Careerealism.com , and author of "Careerealism: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career."
She recommends lots of white space and no more than a 0.8 margin.
8. Time off.
Employers don't want to hear about what you got up to in your time off
If you took time off to travel or raise a family, Gelbard doesn't recommend including that information on your résumé. "In some countries, it is acceptable to include this information, especially travel, but it is not appropriate to include that in the body of a résumé in the US."
9. References.
If your employers want to speak to your references, they'll ask you. Also, it's better if you have a chance to tell your references ahead of time that a future employer might be calling.
If you write "references upon request" at the bottom of your résumé, you're merely wasting a valuable line, career coach Eli Amdur says.
10. Inconsistent formatting.​
The format of your résumé is just as important as its content, says Amanda Augustine , a career-management expert.
She says the best format is the format that will make it easiest for the hiring manager to scan your résumé and still be able to pick out your key qualifications and career goals.
Once you pick a format, stick with it. If you write the day, month, and year for one date, then use that same format throughout the rest of the résumé.
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Man holds sign up advertising his CV at Waterloo Station
11. Personal pronouns.
Your résumé shouldn't include the words "I," "me," "she," or "my," says Tina Nicolai, executive career coach and founder of Resume Writers' Ink.
"Don't write your résumé in the third or first person. It's understood that everything on your résumé is about you and your experiences."
12. Present tense for a past job.
Never describe past work experience using the present tense. Only your current job should be written in the present tense, Gelbard says.
13. A less-than-professional email address.
If you still use an old email address, like BeerLover123@gmail.com or CuteChick4life@yahoo.com, it's time to pick a new one.
It only takes a minute or two, and it's free.
14. Any unnecessary, obvious words.
Amdur says there is no reason to put the word "phone" in front of the actual number.
"It's pretty silly. They know it's your phone number." The same rule applies to email.
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15. Headers, footers, tables, images, or charts.
These fancy embeddings will have hiring managers thinking, "Could you not?"
While a well-formatted header and footer may look professional, and some cool tables, images, or charts may boost your credibility, they also confuse the applicant tracking systems that companies use nowadays, Augustine tells Business Insider .
The system will react by scrambling up your résumé and spitting out a poorly-formatted one that may no longer include your header or charts. Even if you were an ideal candidate for the position, now the hiring manager has no way to contact you for an interview.
16. Your current business contact info.
Amdur writes at NorthJersey.com :
"This is not only dangerous; it's stupid. Do you really want employers calling you at work? How are you going to handle that? Oh, and by the way, your current employer can monitor your emails and phone calls. So if you're not in the mood to get fired, or potentially charged with theft of services (really), then leave the business info off."
17. Your boss' name.
Don't include your boss' name on your résumé unless you're OK with your potential employer contacting him or her. Even then, Gelbard says the only reason your boss' name should be on your résumé is if the person is someone noteworthy, and if it would be really impressive.
18. Company-specific jargon.
"Companies often have their own internal names for things like customized software, technologies, and processes that are only known within that organization and not by those who work outside of it," Gelbard says. "Be sure to exclude terms on your résumé that are known only to one specific organization."
19. Social media URLs that are not re

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Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by sawdonline: 5:37pm On Jun 10, 2016
19. Social media URLs that are not related to the targeted position.
Social media links are not relevant to job applications
Links to your opinionated blogs, Pinterest page, or Instagram account have no business taking up prime résumé real estate. "Candidates who tend to think their personal social media sites are valuable are putting themselves at risk of landing in the 'no' pile," Nicolai says.
"But you should list relevant URLs, such as your LinkedIn page or any others that are professional and directly related to the position you are trying to acquire," she says.
20. More than 15 years of experience.
When you start including jobs from before 2000, you start to lose the hiring manager's interest.
Your most relevant experience should be from the past 15 years, so hiring managers only need to see that, Augustine says.
On the same note, never include dates on education and certifications that are older than 15 years.
21. Salary information.
"Some people include past hourly rates for jobs they held in college," Nicolai says. This information is completely unnecessary and may send the wrong message.
Amy Hoover, president of Talent Zoo, says you also shouldn't address your desired salary in a résumé. "This document is intended to showcase your professional experience and skills. Salary comes later in the interview process."
22. Outdated fonts.
"Don't use Times New Roman and serif fonts, as they're outdated and old-fashioned," Hoover says. "Use a standard, sans-serif font like Arial."
Also, be aware of the font size, she says. Your goal should be to make it look nice and sleek — but also easy to read.
23. Fancy fonts.
Curly-tailed fonts are also a turn-off, according to O'Donnell. "People try to make their résumé look classier with a fancy font, but studies show they are harder to read and the recruiter absorbs less about you."
24. Annoying buzzwords.
CareerBuilder asked 2,201 US hiring managers: "What résumé terms are the biggest turnoffs?" They cited words and phrases such as, "best of breed," "go-getter," "think outside the box," "synergy," and "people pleaser."
Terms employers do like to see on résumés include: "achieved," "managed," "resolved," and "launched" — but only if they're used in moderation.

25. Reasons you left a company or position.
Candidates often think, "If I explain why I left the position on my résumé, maybe my chances will improve."
"Wrong," Nicolai says. "Listing why you left is irrelevant on your résumé. It's not the time or place to bring up transitions from one company to the next."
Use your interview to address this.
26. Your school grades
Once you're out of school, your grades aren't so relevant.
If you're a new university graduate and your grades were particularly high — it's OK to leave it.
27. A photo of yourself.
This may become the norm at some point in the future, but it's just weird — and tacky and distracting — for now.
28. Opinions, not facts.
Don't try to sell yourself by using all sorts of subjective words to describe yourself, O'Donnell says. "I'm an excellent communicator" or "highly organized and motivated" are opinions of yourself and not necessarily the truth. "Recruiters want facts only. They'll decide if you are those things after they meet you," she says.
29. Short-term employment.
Avoid including a job on your résumé if you only held the position for a short period of time, Gelbard says. You should especially avoid including jobs you were let go from or didn't like.

source: u-report Nigeria
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by Rexphobia(m): 7:38pm On Jun 10, 2016
If I remove all that na empty sheet remain be that... Please show us your cv

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Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by keryj(f): 8:22pm On Jun 10, 2016
I find this a lot useful. Kudos
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by delightz(m): 8:57pm On Jun 10, 2016
I wont be surprised if someone should come up and say The latest CV format that attracts the best jobs is the type that contains only your name and phone numbers.
Too much emphasis on this CV matter joor.

1 Like

Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by ademasta(m): 10:21pm On Jun 10, 2016
I taya o
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by Paragon001(m): 11:06pm On Jun 10, 2016
delightz:
I wont be surprised if someone should come up and say The latest CV format that attracts the best jobs is the type that contains only your name and phone numbers.
Too much emphasis on this CV matter joor.
I just tire.....
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by smiliyB(f): 11:47pm On Jun 10, 2016
Rexphobia:
If I remove all that na empty sheet remain be that... Please show us your cv
lolz seriously nah empty sheet indeed,I'm even tired of the plenty rules n regulation in CV.person won't knw the one to follow again cry pls op try show us ur own cv or anyone dat we can use for example.
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by odrims: 12:28am On Jun 11, 2016
grin grin grin just do your thing bro, its easier when UV made it and be telling others you must do this and that, one can borrow some ideas from that piece . nice one
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by nurez305(m): 4:49am On Jun 11, 2016
Cv is overrated, this is nigeria where you need to know the brother that know one uncle which is a close friend of the father that is directly related to the CEO......you will type your cv with 4 different font and gain the employment instantly. Who cv don epp in naija
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by lisimmo(m): 6:36am On Jun 11, 2016
Cool stuff
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by Craven: 7:17am On Jun 11, 2016
These rules have been coined together based on the opinions of foreign recruiters. And as a result, most of these rules don't apply here. I'm confused as to why anyone would apply something coined for a foreign recruitment scene to the the Nigerian recruitment scene. That's the recipe to making a silly mistake. Discrimination in the American recruitment scene is rare, but that can't be said for the one in Nigeria. Here, some recruiters look out for your age, school, class of degree, hobbies, what you got up to during your time off, amongst other things. This is a fact the above rules fails to take into consideration.

In my opinion, the things you should not include in your resume are things you got from a foreign list like this. They don't apply here.

Besides, there isn't one way of creating a resume. Employers look for uniqueness, and there is nothing unique about following the exact same rules thousands of other people are following. The key to having a great resume is thinking outside the box.

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Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by delightz(m): 8:54am On Jun 11, 2016
nurez305:
Cv is overrated, this is nigeria where you need to know the brother that know one uncle which is a close friend of the father that is directly related to the CEO......you will type your cv with 4 different font and gain the employment instantly. Who cv don epp in naija
Abi na....
I haven't heard of anybody who said he got a job because his CV was excellent.
In my country. .... Na God and connections win am.

...and that was how i went to pay one recruitment firm to rewrite my CV....
I couldn't believe what i saw.....may God forgive them sha.

1 Like

Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by sawdonline: 9:45am On Jun 11, 2016
in a Nigerian competitive market where a job is posted and you see age specifications it is advisable to never put your age as that may lead to total disqualification
Re: 29 Things You Should Avoid On Your Cv by Mopricelezz(f): 10:45am On Jun 11, 2016
Learnt a lot from this. Thanks

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