Things not to do when Writing a CV

Do not include photographs

Unless you are somebody whose appearance is an integral part of their CV, siuch as an actress or a model, it is a big mistake to include photographs. They are unnecessary and detract from a businesslike presentation of your CV.

• Don’t ever make excuses

Avoid including anything negative in your CV. Never, ever, give what you may consider to be ‘reasons’ why your career in a certain position did not progress as you would have wishes. Don’t be tempted to include ‘reasons for leaving’.

• Never criticise previous employers

Always try to remember that you are addressing your CV to a prospective employer. Never criticise your previous employers or the way they run their business, there is a good possibility that the reader will view this as disloyalty, which will not put you in a good light.

• Don’t use gimmicks

Your CV should be recognised for the quality of information it contains. The way to do this is with an attractive CV layout NOT by the use of fancy fonts, coloured paper or complex layouts.

• Don’t use jargon

Avoid the use of acronymns or jargon when writing your CV unless you are sure that you are targeting a sector where they will be well understood. The prospective employer will lose concentration when reading your CV if he has to stop to work out the meaning of what you are saying.

• Don’t use the same words

We all have words that we prefer to use, but be sure that you haven’t repeatedly used the same word or phrase through the CV. It is particularly easy to find that you have started every sentence with the word ‘I’.

• Don’t refer to yourself in the third person

In an effort to leave out the ‘I’ pronoun, people sometimes resort to referring to themselves in the third person. This makes for a very strange style. The best solution is to leave out all pronouns and use a report-writing style instead.

• Don’t use too many words

When writing your CV try to avoid making your sentences too complicated. The shorter the sentences the easier they are to understand. Try not to ramble on, giving lengthy explanations when all the reader needs is the plain facts.

• Don’t use long paragraphs of prose

It can be very daunting to a busy person to be faced with a page full of tightly packed information. The more white space there is on the page the easier it will be read and understand. Bulleted lists are an excellent way of expressing information in a clear, easy to understand format.

• Don’t repeat the same information

A very common mistake in CV writing is to be repetitive. This is just a waste of space but it is very easy to fall into this trap. Even though it may be expressed differently, if it is saying the same thing again then it is not needed.

• Don’t put in too much detail

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