CV TIPS-Put in Your CV

Posted 30th April 2020 • Written by People First • •

CV Tips - 17 things (plus one extra) to NOT Put in Your CV (and why)

Do NOT put:

1. Your photo - they don't put theirs in the job adverts, why do they need to see yours?

2. your phone number - the code tells them the city/country you're in; if you need to relocate they might be less interested in you. Get them to love you before they need to know you have to relocate.

3. your home address - same as 2.

4. your silly, funny, strange email address eg. iamazombie@..., mesolazy@... - be professional; create an email account just for job hunting if you need to.

5. your visa - if it’s Tier 4 or Tier 5 or anything with a time restriction leave it out; get them to like your CV first and then ask you about your visa because if they like you enough they might find a solution. 

   BUT if you have Indefinite Leave to Remain, a UK/EU passport, etc., then DEFINITELY include that.

6. your height, religion, age, anything about your family (their names, jobs, etc.) - not important or relevant.

7. ALL of your academic record going back to primary school - only put what's important and impressive. Even if you're at the start of your career no-one needs to know the primary school you went to.

8. your grades - Only put grades if they're great, eg. A, A*, 2.1, 1st class, Merit, etc. Not if they are C, D, E, 3rd Class, Pass, etc.

9. your education ahead of your work history if your work is more recent and more relevant - if your education was some years ago and your work experience since is more recent, impressive, important and relevant, then put your work history first. Only put Education first if you're at the start of your career or if it is more impressive than your work history so far.

10. ALL your jobs - same as 7. You only need to list everything, including extra curricular activities, if you are at the start of your career and do not have much relevant work experience. 

    BUT if you do list part time, weekend, holiday jobs, etc., make clear what you learned, what skills you developed, what you contributed, etc.. 

    Also important, if you are applying for, for example, an HR job, which is what you have done in the past but is not what you are doing now, then you can put your relevant experience first with a sub-heading eg. 'HR  Experience' and then put everything else under ‘Current Experience’ to show what you're doing now.

11. gaps in your work history - Employers don't like gaps so if you have a gap of 6 months or more then explain it eg. travelled around Europe, returned home to take care of a sick family member, studied ACCA, raised a family, etc.. 

    It can also help if you explain why you left a job eg. left for career development, left due to office relocation, etc.

    If you fill a gap with details of a job you did that is not relevant do it with minimal detail - just the job title, company name and date, but no extra information because it draws attention away from the stronger parts of your CV - the important thing is that it fills the gap.

12. your work history ahead of your education if you have little work history - same as 9. If your education record is more relevant and impressive than the work you have done so far, especially if you are at the start of your career, then put your education first.

13. dates in chronological order - put dates in reverse chronological order eg. 2019, 2018, 2017, etc. not 2005, 2006, 2007.

14. your hobbies if all you do is watch TV - you don't have to list your hobbies, but what you do outside work can make you stand out from the crowd especially if you do something valuable (charity work, etc.), interesting/unusual, or that you are passionate about. BUT, even if you're passionate about watching TV think of something else to put!

15. your references - you don't even need to write 'References available on request'; it just wastes space. If they want to offer you the job then they will ask you for references anyway

16. paragraphs - use bullet points to break up your text; it makes it easier to read than a big block of words 

17. more than 2 pages - 2 pages maximum, please. 1 page is nice and neat but not if it means you have to cut out important information and 3 pages means you need to re-read it and start editing,

18. Your free BONUS tip - do not include:

Lies, inaccuracies, untruths, etc.

If your French is not fluent then describe it as Conversational; 

If you left a job in January and started the next in May do not put your leaving date as April (your next employer will find out the truth from references, P45s, etc.);

If your MS Excel is not Advanced, don't put Advanced;

If you were on course for a 2.1 but got a Pass don't say you got a 2.1, just put that you graduated; 

If you got a B do not say you got an A, if you got a 2.1 do not say you got a 1st, etc.;

If you were a team member not a team leader, do not put your job title as Manager, etc.