5 OMG’s of bad CV’s

If you have been in the same job for 2 years or more, you’ll soon realize that the recruitment process has evolved quite a bit. As much as our generation is changing, so is the world of work. It’s no longer enough to have great credentials and references, with work experience to back it all up. When you hand over a piece of paper, or click the send button, it’s a whole chain of events that are swinging into motion. These are the wise words of a recruitment consultant that we pass on to you.

1. Don’t use a picture (unless the job role requires it!)  You don’t want it to be the reason you are OR are not hired. Do you want to be hired because of how they thought you looked, or, do you want to have the opposite, and have your resume dumped in their garbage because they didn’t like what they saw in a tiny unflattering thumbnail pic? It can go either way, but both of these options really can’t have a happy ending
2. Fingerprints and Signatures  VERTICALLY aligned in the Margin  – Wow. The first time you see these it can really have the wow factor. It’s just so modern and out there, what with all the “think outside the box” going on right now. There are plenty of ways to do all of that without forensic gestures and fancy calligraphy.
3. Scented Paper – Understandably, its 2016, the vast majority of job applications  are done via email. Scented CV’s became a thing around the time Elle Woods handed her professor a pink sheet after her lesson at Harvard. Never mind the pink sheet. Keep it clean and unscented, it’s a no go zone.
4. Mowing the Lawn and Selling Lemonade in your Driveway – Generally, there are a few ground rules for applying to professional jobs that you should remember. Keep it relative to the position you are applying for, and never put anything you did before the age of 21.
5. Style & Design.  Keep it classy and simple. We don’t need headaches and swirls to look at when we are trying to fish through your CV’s looking for the essential criteria. The last thing we need to see is Comic Sans “lolz” “kk” and “:-)”for the record. That font will get you nowhere.

Good Luck Everyone!