Writing A CV – Common Errors

Writing a CV (known to Canadians and Americans as a resume) is so obviously important that it seems strange that anyone would get it all hopelessly wrong. But some do, and the effect on their employment prospects can be devastating.
While no two employers will agree completely on what constitutes a good professional CV, there are certain fundamental errors which all find unacceptable.
CV Writers Must Check Spelling and Grammar
I am a comitted employe, and have often been premoted . . .
This is not how to write a CV. According to the Times Higher Education, “Nine out of ten graduates are turned down for a job because their CVs are full of errors of spelling and grammar.” Spell checkers are a first line of defense against such errors, but since no spell checker will find any fault with the sentence “He has dark hare”, CV writers should also have a dictionary to hand. And even then, it is best to have a literate friend check the document before it goes off.
Such a friend is still more important when it comes to grammar, with which no dictionary can help. Anyone who reads much should be able to spot grammatical errors easily, and should also be able to tell when something simply sounds awkward. One way to identify clumsy expression when writing a CV is to vocalise it: the ear is much better than the eye at picking up poor expression.
Making a CV Relevant
On Sundays I like to chill out with a good book . . .
There is a natural tendency to want to tell the employer everything, but this is not how to write a good CV. The general rule is that two sides of A4 is the maximum, so – except for a young person who has little work experience to write about – a great deal must be condensed for a good professional CV.
Work record and educational qualifications are best given in reverse chronological order. Generally speaking, the highest academic qualifications are the ones that matter – an applicant with a university degree need not dwell on GCSEs. As for work, the most recent job is likely to be the most relevant: details of earlier employment should be sparing.
For the most part, hobbies and interests should not appear on a CV. Someone applying for the post of sales manager with a computer firm may well be interested in flower arranging or in Roman history, but these things have no place in a professional CV. Hobbies and interests should be included only if they are relevant to the job.
A Professional CV Demands Good Layout
[Imagine any densely-printed page.]
A4 paper should be used in making a CV, typed on one side only, and there should be margins of one inch all round. There should also be plenty of white space within the document, since a densely-printed page is always harder on the eye.
Writing a CV in a variety of typefaces, and even a variety of colours, is not a good idea. In considering how to write a CV, remember that the employer wants information, not a display of word-processing virtuosity.
CV writers should use just one typeface, or at most two – one for headings and one for normal text. Times New Roman and Georgia are amongst the best for hard copy, Arial and Verdana amongst the best for on-screen reading. Unusual typefaces such as Impact and Playbill certainly make an impression, but entirely the wrong one: for an employer looking for information, they are an irritant.
If there is one thing that CV writers should bear in mind above all others, it is this: what matters is not how the thing looks to the writer but how it looks to the reader. Try to give the employer what he or she needs to know, in a way which makes it easy to take in. This is how to write a good CV.

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