Most Common CV Mistakes

Wrong name

It seems obvious, but make sure you have addressed your CV to the right person, and that you’ve spelt their name right.

Wrong CV

When you’re applying for multiple roles via email it’s easy to attach the wrong the CV, which is devastating when you’ve spent the past hour tailoring it to the job you’re applying for.

When you tailor your CV, include the job title or company in the file name – that way you won’t upload an older or different version by mistake.

No attachment

Speaking of attachments, make sure you actually attach your CV and other relevant documents to your email.

Gmail will prompt you to add your attachment as soon as you hit the ‘send’ button. Unfortunately, some other email hosts won’t.

Bad format

Your safest bet is to save your document as a .PDF file (word documents are saved as, and can only be opened as, different formats by Mac and Windows devices).

Saving it as a PDF file will also ensure that your file isn’t reformatted when opened on a different device.

Informal email address

Keep it professional by sticking with some variation of your name and/or initials.

Wrong title

We all know that it’s your CV – you don’t need to label it as such. Instead, the title of your CV should be your name – this is what you want the employer to remember.

Typos and spelling mistakes

Don’t trust Microsoft word; if your typo actually forms a real word, or you accidentally use an American spelling, your word processor may not highlight your error.

Instead, try some old fashioned proofreading techniques:
• Print it off and proofread it on paper – this way there’ll be no on-screen skimming
• Read it out loud –you can’t skip over your typos as you’re forced to read them out
• Read it backwards – this will make you concentrate more on individual words

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