How to write a CV: Our Recruiter’s top CV Horror stories

Recruitment professional Claire Thomas, helps you avoid making these frightening errors on your CV.

We receive hundreds of CVs from candidates keen to secure that dream job. The GCA recruitment team sift through searching for the key details in each CV. A vital task!

However, there are some scary CVs out there, CVs that make our recruiters shout and scream!

As its Halloween, I thought it would be good to warn you about these three terrifying mistakes we see on candidates CVs…

1)            The NOT A CV document

The dreaded CV that isn’t a CV at all… It turns out to be your “Dropbox instruction manual” or the letter you wrote to your local MP, or worse, an important business document. Sadly, if you make this blinder of a mistake then it really screams “POOR ATTENTION TO DETAIL”. This sounds simple and should go without saying but please check which document you are attaching or uploading.

2)            Unreadable formats and document types

There’s no greater disappointment than reading a great cover letter only to find you can’t open the CV. We recommend you save your CV in Word or PDF.

3)            No Telephone Number

Not including your telephone number and contact details on your CV makes any recruiter want to shriek. Firstly, if you are as amazing as the rest of your CV suggests then we want to talk to you. We want to get you that job. But we can’t do that if you haven’t given us your telephone number! You see the problem? So, if you want that great job then make sure you put your up to date telephone number along with your email address on your CV so we can contact you.

So, there you have it, three simple but potentially disastrous mistakes you could easily make that could stop you from getting your dream job, what a nightmare?! But don’t fear here is the checklist that will save your CV.

1)            Check the document before clicking apply or upload

2)            Use a word or PDF format

3)            Include your up to date telephone number

So now you have a CV that is definitely a CV, in the correct format and has your contact details, why not send your CV to jobs@glencallum.co.uk or apply for one of our jobs here. If you still have questions about your CV or want to know more, you can check out our other blog here. Alternatively, you can call Claire on 01384 485274.

Checkout our team’s Halloween pumpkins! Which is your favourite?