Guest Blog: The Top 10 Irritating Things We See on CVs

Let’s face it, recruiters get a hard time.  The industry battles with bad press, a perception that it’s all about fees and we’re in the pub by lunchtime on a Friday. If only! It’s more like a plate-spinning marathon, juggling the client’s wish list against the deluge of candidate applications.  Some of these CVs and applications can range from entertaining to frustrating to downright baffling.

ISV Software asked the Recruitment and HR industry* to share the most irritating things you see on CVs. Here are the Top 10 howlers (now can someone just tell the candidates!) 

•  Spelling and Grammar Errors – far and away the most popular gripe. It shows lack of attention and time spent on the document. Favourites include a candidate who had worked at ‘Goldman Sucks’ and, from a TEAM discussion on LinkedIn earlier this year, a candidate who interacted well with ‘steakholders’.
• Photos – anyone for candidate’s holiday snaps, their wedding photo or adopting the ‘Hire me- I’m very professional’ pose?

• Cheesy phrases that add nothing of value – how many candidates have “excellent interpersonal skills” or “work well on their own and as part of a team”? What does this really tell you?
• Dear Sir - or Mr when you’re a woman and vice versa, this was even more contentious when the candidate has access to your name. Although one contributor was addressed as ‘Lady’ which they thought put a new spin on the introduction.
• Obscure formatting – different fonts, line spacing, random capitalisation… Not only does this make the CV look like a ‘cut and paste’ job, it makes it difficult to extract the relevant information.
• Lack of quantifiable achievements - candidates who simply churn out their job spec rather than outlining contributions make the job so much harder.
• Irrelevant information or experience – a waitress applying for a procurement role, a credit controller going for a PR job… why? If there are relevant skills, the CV should be tailored to highlight these. If not, then don’t waste our time!
• Generic cover notes – a template cover letter or email taken from the internet. You’ve seen them before and they get pretty tiresome. Plus they sometimes make you wonder if the candidate has read the job spec at all!
• Gaps in employment – you’ll spot them a mile away and are going to ask the question. It would be handy if the candidate could just address this from the outset.
• Too much or incorrect personal information – date of birth, marital status, religious beliefs; it’s all information that needs deleting before the CV can be submitted to the client. Worse still, out of service phone numbers or old emails so you can’t make contact.

*information gained from social media polls and discussion groups including the TEAM LinkedIn Group.

Amanda Davies

Sales & Marketing Director

ISV Group