You’ve probably heard the saying: “Looking for a job is a full-time job.” That’s pretty accurate. In a rocky job market, it can take quite a bit of effort to find gainful employment. Your first order of business ids making sure that your resume is in order. When preparing your resume avoid the top four mistakes that could get in your way of finding the perfect job.
Not Narrowly Focusing Your CV
Most job seekers have skill that could easily translate over into different industries like for example: sales, marketing or operations management. They don’t want to miss out on a job opportunity so they create a CV that’s very broad and general. The problem is this will not help you stand out from other job applicants, and it will not support your qualifications for a specific job opportunity. When you send in your CV to apply for a job, it needs to show that you meet the employer’s specific qualifications; otherwise it could get tossed into the slush pile.
Opening with a Career Objective
This is an “old school” CV writing tactic. Objectives are reserved for those graduating and entering the workforce for the first time. Once you have a little experience under your belt, you want to provide potential employers with more targeted information about your experience, competencies and pretty much sell yourself as the best person for the job. Including a career summary at the beginning of the CV is a great way to accomplish and really attract interest. Instead of telling an employer what you’re looking of in a company, your career summary lets them know how they can benefit by hiring you to work for their organization.
Not Showing Your Key Achievements
This is probably the most common CV mistake. Job seekers spend more time describing their day-to-day duties and responsibilities. This is important information, but employers also want to know: “What’s in it for me if I hire you?” The best way to show them is by detailing what you’ve done for companies in your previous positions.
List your key achievements for each job. Show exactly how you helped each company improve in some way. For example, maybe you reduced annual costs by 76%. Or perhaps you implemented staffing initiative that resulted in reduced staff turnover by 48%. You don’t have to include metric, but the achievements you provide need to be measurable in some way to show your true value.
Not Proofreading Carefully
Your CV can be perfectly formatted, but if it contains the slightest error, it could cost you a chance at your dream job. Mistakes can be perceived by employers as sloppy. Your CV is an employer’s first impression of you. You don’t want mistakes to give the impression that you’re sloppy or lazy.
When you complete your CV, step away for a couple of hours and return to review it with fresh eyes. If you’ve been working on it for two hours straight, you’re less likely to catch careless errors.
After you proofread it, proof read it again. If you can, ask a friend to proofread it for you. Two eyes are better than one.