The 20 Second Factor
Experienced recruiters say that the first 20 seconds are crucial in deciding whether a CV is to be shortlisted or not. First impressions count.
The signals given by your CV in the first 20 seconds may make all the difference. If the signals are positive (CV is interesting, relevant, well organised, easy to read), the reader will be more motivated to give you the time your CV deserves.
Recruiters often read CVs looking for certain keywords, including words taken from the job advertisement, or with a checklist of requirements. A pile of CVs may be read quickly in a single sitting, the reader comparing one candidate with another. In many cases CVs are screened for minumum requirements by non-specialist staff before being passed on to supervisors.
Headings, use of space, layout, clear language - all help readers navigate your CV quickly. You need to organise your CV so that the key information is both efficient and engaging and you communicate as much as possible in the first 20 seconds.
You also need to give that 'x factor' impression: that you possess more skills than those described in the text of the CV.
Twelve Common CV Problems
Here are twelve 'first impression' CV problems frequently cited by top recruiters. I also offer some of my tips for solving them:
1. Too longA long CV which assumes that the reader has all day may not make much of an impression in the first 20 seconds.
Tip: Keep your CV to two pages in most cases. Make sure the first page contains the main selling points and creates interest in the second page. See FAQs for more on this and how the job advertisement may give you clues as to the length required.
2. Too wordyLong descriptions of job duties taken from official job descriptions. Long sentences, jargon, lots of abbreviations, redundant information.
Tips: Keep thinking: what do I want people to remember about my CV from a first reading, even if it is only 20 seconds? Edit your CV to highlight the essentials. Target keywords which are strongly associated with your career profile. Avoid big paragraphs. Break information up using bullet points or some other spacing technique. 'Layer' the career history (see post on 'Describing Jobs'). Don't copy/paste from official job descriptions. Avoid long sentences and jargon. For technical information (eg. ICT platforms, weapons training) consider creating a 'Technical Skills' section in your CV instead of overloading the sentences in your career history. Avoid abbreviations unless you are sure the reader will know what you mean.
3. Unfocused
CV reads like a list. No thread of interest drawing the items together. Key skills and achievements are not summarised. No relation to the target job.
Tips: Include some kind of Professional Profile statement at the top of your CV. There are many ways of doing this - see examples in the manual or the post on 'Profiles'. Also consider using some kind of 'Key Skills' or 'Qualification Highlights' section before your career history. Make sure that certain keywords are repeated in the CV or use synonyms. Focus on your achievements in a job as well as duties. Don't send the same CV for every job. Study the target job advertisment and adapt your CV accordingly. Avoid long lists of bullet points.
4. Irrelevant
The CV either repeats itself or contains information which adds nothing to the overall effect.
Tips: Make sure that every word in the CV is doing something useful. Don't waste the first half-page on 'Personal Details' which could easily go at the end. There is no need to put 'Curriculum Vitae' at the top as it will be obvious what it is. Also no need to put labels like 'Name', 'Address' etc. If you have had two or three very similar jobs avoid repeating the same phrases to describe each one. Vary the vocabulary (for example, the verbs) in order to bring out different aspects of your career profile. Remember that things from the past can be made relevant to your present needs.
5. UnevenSmall things jump out and stick in the mind but the big picture is lost.
Tips: Beware of putting relatively small details in prominent positions on your CV. For example, the space just beneath your name/address is a 'hotspot' for the eye of quick readers. You need to project the big picture about yourself here, not some secondary detail about driving licences or hobbies. Make sure that the visual layout of BOTH pages is consistent. Look out for things like spacing, use of headings, line breaks, point size. Create an engaging but consistent design. Two-page CVs are often scanned by readers with the pages side by side. Few readers will read the whole of page one and then the whole of page two. Most readers probably glance at page one, glance at page two, and then move between the two pages - depending on how interesting the CV is. It is not unusual for the covering letter to be involved too. Your two documents - CV and covering letter - may be read side by side. You need to bear this in mind when you design your CV.
6. Vague'Implemented various administrative procedures over time'. Yawn.
Tips: Make sure that you include specific achievements as well as general skills in your career history. Avoid vague phrases like 'administrative procedures', which sound boring and come from official job descriptions. Also watch out for weak sentence endings like 'over time' or 'as and when required'. Watch out for words like 'various' and 'numerous'. It is better to give some concrete examples using 'such as' or 'including'.
7. Stuck in the PastCV gives lots about what the person has done, but no sense of where they are going. No objective.
Tips: Include an objective statement in your career profile. Give some sense of what kind of career move you are looking to make. Use present tense to describe your currrent job and past tense for your previous jobs. Or, avoid the tense problem by using participles ('Managing', 'Coordinating', 'Developing'). Include in your CV ongoing projects and activities, especially professional study or extended training, with estimated completion dates. Use your covering letter to expand on these elements, creating a sense of professional growth and development. This is especially important if you are looking to move into a new career area.
8. Flat Style
Boring to read. Emphasis falls on nouns rather than verbs. Sounds official rather than individual.
Tips: Edit the sentences of your CV to emphasise active verbs. Download my list of 'CV Verbs' under 'Resources' on this site. When referring to official projects, edit long titles so that they are understandable to people outside your organisation. Focus on words which translate easily into other work contexts. Try to think outside the jargon and inside-language which all organisations have and identify transferable skills.
9. Poor Presentation
Looks messy or unprofessional. No layering of information. Large headings in capital letters. Big chunky paragraphs. Unpleasant typeface. Or too 'busy' - with unnecessary colour, flashy borders or inappropriate fonts.
Tips: Design your CV for ease of reading and a consistent but not rigid impression. Make balanced use of white space (for example, either side of your profile statement) and the spaces between items in the career history. Experiment with bullet points but avoid long lists. Use both headings and sub-headings, with different point sizes and/or typefaces to set them visually apart. Layer information clearly to show promotions or post changes within a single job.
10. Messy
Contains errors of spelling, punctuation or grammar.
Tips: It's a fact of life that people respond negatively to glaring errors in language. You should proof-read your CV and covering letter several times before sending. Get other people to read for you. Don't rely on a computer spellcheck. For some proof-reading tips, such as reading 'backwards', see http://www.ualr.edu/owl/proofreading.htm.
11. Full of Holes
Big gaps in the career history. Gives names of organisations but without saying what the business is.
Tips: Explain gaps in your CV of more than six months in the last fifteen years (see additional post 'Mind the Gaps'). More importantly, explain briefly - in one short phrase - the main business of past employers when you name them in your career history, unless they are likely to be very well known to the reader. Don't just name the company. The chances are that the recruiter will be just as interested in the kind of business as in the name of the company.
12. Template?
Looks like boxes have been filled in. Lacks an individual touch.
Tips: Only use templates to get you started or to experiment. A template CV is often visible beneath the information and gives a rather mechanical impression. Your CV becomes like another application form. Far better to design your own CV. Do things with your CV and covering letter that standard forms like the PHP can't do.
