CAREERS 101

From creating CVs to practice interview skills, we take it back to basics with career coach Jaz Broughton.

- SHANNON MANUEL

CVs

WHAT ARE COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE TEND TO MAKE WHEN CREATING ONE?

They forget the function of a CV, which is to entice the reader to invite them to an interview to learn more about them. With that in mind, filling it with a long list of irrelevant information (e.g. copied-and-pasted chunks of a job description) is a turn-off for recruiters.

Others might use too many words to describe their current or former employers but fewer to say how they add value to a company. When applicants write about how excellent a task or project was without highlighting their contribution or responsibilities, prospective employers might question if they’re the innovative leader they describe themselves to be in their covering letter.

THREE SIGNS A CV IS BAD

Heavily designed: Don’t treat your CV like a media kit. Employers don’t need a picture of you – that’s what LinkedIn’s for – so, rather use the space to share your projects or skills.

Filler sentences: writing concisely shows you value the readers’ time and can clearly answer a question. It indicates you’ll be able to do that in an interview too.

Repetition: If you worked with clients in your past three roles, that’s fine, but tell the reader how each of those experiences differed because they’ll want to know you can increase your depth of expertise.

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