Common mistakes when writing cvs
Dec 13, 2009
A curriculum vitae (CV) is one of the most important documents one must possess to secure a job. However, most job-seekers are not sure what it should contain and how it should be structured.
By Alice Chekwoti
A curriculum vitae (CV) is one of the most important documents one must possess to secure a job. However, most job-seekers are not sure what it should contain and how it should be structured. In fact, one of the biggest enquiries I get as a human resources consultant is in regards to crafting job-winning CVs.
A CV or resume is a document that outlines your educational background, experience and a summary of yourself for the purposes of securing a job. It is a marketing tool that needs to be well written to showcase your skills to a prospective employer. It is vital to indicate your achievements in the CV to sell your skills to the employer.
Below are some of the big mistakes people make when writing CVs:
Putting in too much.
Having worked as a human resources manager, one of the things I resented most was browsing through a long CV. Such is a complete turn-off even for the most patient recruiter. Some people are good at story telling, but a CV is not a good place to start telling stories.
It is best to be precise to the point. Outline your roles and achievements in a concise manner without putting off the reader.
Putting in too little.
Conversely, an overly brief CV will not deliver. Some CVs are too vague to give information necessary to consider that candidate. This also is a disservice because such a CV will be trashed.
Misrepresenting or lying.
One of the most common mistakes people make when writing their CVs is to misrepresent facts or tell lies.
Misrepresenting can easily get you disqualified once the truth is known. This may even hamper any prospective employment with any other organisation.
The type of misrepresentation can range from lying about the position held, the academic qualification, time spent in a position or age.
Perhaps you were just an assistant in an organisation, but you indicate that you worked in a more senior position.
Some people lie about the reasons they left their former employment. If you were fired because of something bad you did, you would rather be remorseful, admit you learnt your lesson and are willing to change.
You would rather tell the truth than lie because the consequences of lying are too costly. Since misrepresentation is becoming a chronic problem, most employers are carrying out thorough background checks. In banks, for example, background checks are mandatory.
Some people are going to the extent of forging academic papers in order to get jobs. In Uganda, employers are now verifying academic credentials from the different universities. The same is happening in Tanzania, especially after the recent discoveries of forgeries of academic papers of universities.
Inconsistent CVs are a major turn-off for hiring managers.
This is related to misrepresentation, although at times inconsistency is not intentional. For a person, who has worked for so many years, at times they tend to forget some roles undertaken and the exact time undertaken.
It is important to revise the CV several times before printing to remove all the inconsistencies.
One mistake young graduates make is their choice of a referee. They are fond of choosing their college professors who barely knew them. Therefore, when employers write to these professors for reference letters, they fail to respond.
A good referee should be someone who is familiar with your work, has worked closely with you and has a good understanding of who you are professionally.
The writer is a human resources consultant based in Tanzania achekwoti@gmail.com
A curriculum vitae (CV) is one of the most important documents one must possess to secure a job. However, most job-seekers are not sure what it should contain and how it should be structured. In fact, one of the biggest enquiries I get as a human resources consultant is in regards to crafting job-winning CVs.
A CV or resume is a document that outlines your educational background, experience and a summary of yourself for the purposes of securing a job. It is a marketing tool that needs to be well written to showcase your skills to a prospective employer. It is vital to indicate your achievements in the CV to sell your skills to the employer.
Below are some of the big mistakes people make when writing CVs:
Putting in too much.
Having worked as a human resources manager, one of the things I resented most was browsing through a long CV. Such is a complete turn-off even for the most patient recruiter. Some people are good at story telling, but a CV is not a good place to start telling stories.
It is best to be precise to the point. Outline your roles and achievements in a concise manner without putting off the reader.
Putting in too little.
Conversely, an overly brief CV will not deliver. Some CVs are too vague to give information necessary to consider that candidate. This also is a disservice because such a CV will be trashed.
Misrepresenting or lying.
One of the most common mistakes people make when writing their CVs is to misrepresent facts or tell lies.
Misrepresenting can easily get you disqualified once the truth is known. This may even hamper any prospective employment with any other organisation.
The type of misrepresentation can range from lying about the position held, the academic qualification, time spent in a position or age.
Perhaps you were just an assistant in an organisation, but you indicate that you worked in a more senior position.
Some people lie about the reasons they left their former employment. If you were fired because of something bad you did, you would rather be remorseful, admit you learnt your lesson and are willing to change.
You would rather tell the truth than lie because the consequences of lying are too costly. Since misrepresentation is becoming a chronic problem, most employers are carrying out thorough background checks. In banks, for example, background checks are mandatory.
Some people are going to the extent of forging academic papers in order to get jobs. In Uganda, employers are now verifying academic credentials from the different universities. The same is happening in Tanzania, especially after the recent discoveries of forgeries of academic papers of universities.
Inconsistent CVs are a major turn-off for hiring managers.
This is related to misrepresentation, although at times inconsistency is not intentional. For a person, who has worked for so many years, at times they tend to forget some roles undertaken and the exact time undertaken.
It is important to revise the CV several times before printing to remove all the inconsistencies.
One mistake young graduates make is their choice of a referee. They are fond of choosing their college professors who barely knew them. Therefore, when employers write to these professors for reference letters, they fail to respond.
A good referee should be someone who is familiar with your work, has worked closely with you and has a good understanding of who you are professionally.
The writer is a human resources consultant based in Tanzania achekwoti@gmail.com