Monday, August 20, 2012
10 Reasons Your Cv Is Not Getting You Interviews
10 REASONS YOUR CV IS NOT GETTING YOU INTERVIEWS
By Angela Wahome,
If you’re sending out lots of CVs without getting many calls for interviews, it’s time to conclude that your CV isn’t doing its job. These are some of things about you CV that may be causing this.
If you’re sending out lots of CVs without getting many calls for interviews, it’s time to conclude that your CV isn’t doing its job. These are some of things about you CV that may be causing this.
1. It’s Generic.
If
your CV reads just like dozens of other candidates’, no employer is going to
call you. Your CV needs to convey that you’re a good candidate, not just an
average one.
2. It does not
describe the tasks that you performed.
In
a job market that’s flooded with candidates, a CV that reads like a series of
job descriptions won’t get the attention of the hiring manager. Try to explain
what you have done.
3. It’s full of dense paragraphs.
Employers will only skim your CV
initially, not read it word-for-word and large blocks of text are hard to skim.
Write short lines not long sentences.
4. The contacts details and information of referees.
Your contact information of
inaccurate. Double check the information you put for your contacts to make sure
the hiring manager can reach you. Your referees are not aware you are going to
use them, or you do not update their contact information or you put someone
name without considering what they will say about you. Take time to contact
these people and make sure they will be able to give a good review of you.
5. Having a messy or disorganized CV.
A CV with different font sizes,
margins, spelling mistakes may show that you do not pay attention to detail.
Other things that you should consider when submitting a CV via email are, do
not do a colour CV, do not use text boxes or fancy formatting of CVs as it may
not appear the same way on the hiring managers’ computer as they may not have
the same software. Instead write your CV in MS Word using plain text.
6. It wastes space on things that are irrelevant, like
descriptions of your employer’s business.
Some candidates devote two to
three lines per job to describing the employer itself—its size and the nature
of its business. Hiring managers might want that information when you move to
the interview stage, but your CV isn’t the place for it. Your CV should focus
on you and you alone.
7. It’s not specific.
Employers want concrete
specifics. What exactly did you do and what did it result in?
8. You apply for the position long after you see the
job advert.
Have a CV ready to send for a
position as soon as you become aware of a position.
9. It includes irrelevant details.
Yes, people really do this. This
information is not really necessary. Things like the number of children you
have, the languages you speak English and Kiswahili or your Nationality. We are
going to assume that you can speak English and Kiswahili. Including these
details may come across as naive.
10. You apply for jobs without the right qualifications.
Please ensure that you have the
skills required for the position that you are applying to.
You CV is your advert and you
need to make sure that you have a good CV. If you are not sure about your CV or
would like a professional review to see if we may help you write a CV Please
contact us.
Angela is a Recruitment Officer.
Corporate Staffing Services.
Email: angela@corporatestaffing.co.ke.
Web address. www.corporatestaffing.co.ke
