Research shows that today, recruiters spend between six and eight seconds on each CV they assess. It’s no surprise—they know what they’re looking for and what are the qualities that immediately disqualify an applicant. However, applicants are often dismissed not because of their qualifications, but because of how their CV is presented. Mistakes are very common, and there are plenty of cases of people who have lost a job opportunity due to a poor CV.
Today, we will see what the most common mistakes when creating a CV are, why they occur, and how to avoid them.
1 – Not Using a Simple Format
People who are new to the job market and don’t have an extensive resume make this mistake. They try to stand out by using design and formatting choices they believe will catch people’s attention. However, recruitment processes today are based on automatic tools that filter CVs according to keywords.
So, if your CV is heavily loaded or has a design that confuses the hierarchies of the information, it may be discarded without even reaching the recruiter. According to specialists, a CV should have a basic design, without extravagant colors, fonts, or elements—the simpler, the better. The information should be presented in a clear and consistent structure that is easily readable at a glance by both AIs and recruiters.
2 – Not Considering Extension
This is a common mistake made by people with a long career or extensive training. Industry specialists recommend that a CV should have no more than two pages. Therefore, you must dose the information and include only what’s relevant for the position. On the first page, you should put your personal information, related work experience, and training in the area (in that order).
It’s good to think of the CV as a funnel that channels the most recent experiences of the applicant first and then delivers the details. The idea is for the CV to show your career path. One tip is to attach a cover letter to explain who you are and why you are interested in the job.
3 – Not Attaching Your LinkedIn Profile
Recruiters find it very useful to have your LinkedIn profile as a business card. It should be at the top of your CV, properly linked, along with other profiles or sites that are relevant to your experience: portfolio, projects, website, etc.
Therefore, it’s important to keep your LinkedIn profile updated with relevant information about your work experience and professional training, that is, university degree, courses, soft skills, and more. Likewise, LinkedIn posts can have an impact on your application, so it’s advisable to “purge” your profile of unprofessional posts.
4 – Not Using Keywords
It’s important to know how the CV reception processes work in companies today. The so-called Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS are programs that automatically filter applicants’ information. How? Identifying keywords that match those of the search.
Now, how do you know which keywords to include? You must identify those terms that appear in the application. If the open position is for software development or website design, those are the keywords. However, you can also use variants such as “web developer”, “web designer”, “programming languages”, “Front-End development”, among other related terms.
5 – Not Attaching the File in a Compatible Format
A study by TopResume points out that 43% of CVs can be rejected simply because the ATS system used doesn’t support PDF files. According to industry specialists, if it’s not explicitly stated that the system supports files in this format, it is always best to attach your resume in .doc or .docx format.
A key tip in this regard relates to typography: while ATS systems support different fonts, they are limited to common choices like Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, Georgia, and Times New Roman. Additionally, the font size must be 10 or 12 points.
Conclusion
Now you understand the primary mistakes made when creating a CV. Most of these errors stem from a lack of understanding about automatic assessment methods. AI is already changing the way staff is selected. These new recruitment methods predominantly occur in professional recruitment processes conducted by outsourced agencies for large corporations. This doesn’t occur in agencies or businesses where the hiring process is performed internally. Either way, the tips in this article will help you optimize your CV in both cases.
If you think we forgot a mistake or you have any questions, leave a comment below and we’ll help you.
Translated by @florabosch
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