Here is a comprehensive list of things that you should not do or include with regards to your CV. We hope that by including all of the things not to do, that it will help you avoid making mistakes with your CV. All of the below have been done or are being done in CV's!
- Don’t make spelling/grammar mistakes
- Don’t include a photo of yourself
- Don’t lie or include half-truths
- Don’t over 2 pages or sides of A4
- Don’t include personal information e.g. age
- Don’t just retype your job descriptions
- Don’t leave employment gaps unexplained
- Don’t title your CV with ‘CV’ or ‘Resume’
- Don’t badmouth anyone e.g. ex-employers
- Don’t use same CV for every job
- Don’t include irrelevant skills
- Don’t go too further than 10-15 of employment history
- Don’t use jargon or text language
- Don’t use logos or pictures
- Don’t leave out dates
- Don’t over use bullet points
- Don’t over format your CV
- Don’t centre any text
- Don’t include words that can harm your CV
- Don’t leave out key information
- Don’t use friends/family as references (unless worked in their business)
- Don’t think one CV draft is good enough
- Don’t think you don’t need to proof read
- Don’t use unprofessional email address
- Don’t leave out skills & achievements
- Don’t use “Me”, “My” or “I”
- Don’t have your CV information different from your LinkedIn profile
- Don’t waffle
- Don’t get too informal
- Don’t repeat key words
- Don’t use abbreviations
- Don’t use colour paper
- Don’t include confidential information
- Don’t include political ideals/values or personal beliefs
- Don’t include full details of past employers
- Don’t use negative phrases
- Don’t include salary details
- Don’t include bank details
- Don’t include strange hobbies
- Don’t include jokes or quotes
- Don’t just re-use a template
- Don’t start your employment history from 1st job to current/last one
- Don’t just rely on spell check for errors