What Are Common CV Mistakes In NZ?

It is fundamental to create a CV or resume for job hunting. You will need your CV to outline your experience, training and fit for a role, whether you have been headhunted through word of mouth or LinkedIn. You will not be surprised that recruiters see hundreds of CVs every week. Candidates need to clearly outline their attributes in a resume and tailor it for the role and industry they are aiming to get into.

It is worth spending a fair bit of time thinking and planning before typing up a CV, as you don’t need to omit important experience you have that could land an interview. In this blog, you’ll learn about common CV mistakes in NZ, and you should check your own CV against these points to see how to make it employer-friendly.

Top CV mistakes in NZ that Job Seekers Make

Below are the top common CV mistakes that job seekers often make. Here are also tips to overcome these CV mistakes in NZ.

Poor Formatting And Design

One of the apparent things that recruiters notice about the CV is how it is designed and laid out. They don’t need to read a single word to know how much care has been taken with the formatting. If your CV has no cohesive font style, spacing, or styling, then there is a lack of care and attention to detail in the formatting. Large blocks of text with little white space can make it hard for employers to understand the meaning of your CV.

You should use a consistent, ATS-friendly formatting througout the CV. Make use of heading styles and paragraph text. You must choose a mixture of bullet lists and sentences to avoid reader fatigue and leave ample white space between each job in the history and education sections. Choose a size that allows the CV to be read in just a few pages if possible.

Out-of-Date Information

You may have a CV document that you have updated throughout your working life to reflect the new experience that you have gained. Applicants often do not review and update their CV before sending it off. You may not have added new experiences and responsibilities to your current job or even included promotions within your current employer.

After reading it over, some old entries need additions and edits to your CV. You should give employers the best idea of the skills that you are bringing to the role, current to the present day. Recruitment consultants are building a picture of you when they are reading your CV to understand who you are. Your work and education history should tell a logical story. You can get help from CV specialists to edit your CV and update it when you are in the process of New Zealand job hunting.

Not Tailored To The Job

When you need to write a CV for a specific job, it may feel like a huge task, especially when you are applying to multiple roles. Tailoring a CV for a job does not mean writing a new CV from scratch. Your experience is your experience. Tailoring a CV to a job means highlighting aspects of your previous experience that match the vacancy’s requirements.

For example, you are applying for a team leader role to lead developers. You need to go through your CV and ensure that the details within the job history tell about the leadership elements and not just about your developer skills. A CV often has an introduction paragraph, and we would suggest writing this specifically for a role to help hiring managers with the context around how your work history applies to the position.

Unprofessional Email Address

Most people often have a cheeky email address for years, and you don’t need to get rid of it. Instead, you should create a boring professional one for all your grown-up dealings like job applications.

Just like poor spelling and grammar, an email address that contains innuendo or juvenile subject matter can fairly or unfairly leave an employer to wonder about your fit, even if they might be a perfect fit. You should not leave it up to chance and find a standard email address that is simply some variant of your name.

Blatant Spelling Or Grammatical Errors

When it comes to spelling, grammar, punctuation, or syntax, none of us is 100% perfect. You should address all the spelling mistakes on CV that a word processor can easily catch. Even if the employer understands what you want to communicate, errors show a lack of care about the last message that you want to send to a potential employer.

The way you communicate in writing is not always an indication of how you will communicate professionally. If the employer is a particularly grammar-sensitive person reading your CV, then it is possible that they may put your CV in the no-thanks pile. Your CV is your first impression, so it must get your basic rights. If you are not sure even after checking with a spell-checker, you can get help from resume writing services to ensure an error-free CV.

Too Long

A CV should contain information that warrants employers calling you for an interview. It should not contain your life story, but it should tell who you are and the reason you are suited to the job. When you are editing your CV, you should take time to review the information that you have included. If there is any irrelevant information in your introduction, cut it down.

Remove all the entries of your job history that have no connection with the role you are applying for. Similarly, you should also focus on the most recent ones for the education and training history. A hiring manager who is looking for a senior developer will want to know about more for IT diploma and less about high school across the country.

Fluff

Excessive length is one of the common CV mistakes in NZ, and fluff is similar, but here it is also about the content itself. Are you only providing the information that is relevant to the role? You should consider whether the hiring manager knows about the details of your gap year holiday, political opinion, and direct quotes about you from previous coworkers.

It is good to add detail to your CV about who you are. Including interests like playing guitar or baking will not only inject personality, but also suggest competencies that may help the role. You just need to use common sense and remember how many CVs an employer is reading at once.

Trying To Add A Cover Letter Within A CV

CV requires a scannable experience and skills list, while you can add your backstory and interest in the role in your cover letter. You should not try to include a long cover letter in your CV, as it is an unusual CV mistakes. Employers may print out your CV and make notes on it, especially during the interview process, and the layout of the CV leaves white space for this. They may also print and annotate a cover letter, but it is just a first stage of the interview process, so you are expected to talk to points that are outlined in your cover letter in the interview itself.

The longest paragraph that your CV contain will be your intro. You also need to outline details within each job’s work experience through bullet points and bite-sized chunks of information. The best rule of thumb is that if you are starting to write a paragraph in a CV, you must ask yourself whether this is better suited for a cover letter or prep notes for an interview, or you can go for CV revamping services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I include references on my CV?

Usually, you don’t need to add references directly in your CV, but you can write “references available on request.” You should keep the names and contact details of suitable referees who are ready, and ask for their permission before you provide their information to an employer.

Should I add a photo on my CV?

Adding a professional photo on a CV is generally not necessary until an employer requests you to add one. You should focus on listing your skills, qualifications and experience instead of your appearance. When you leave out a photo, it will also help you to keep the application focused on your professional suitability.

Should I include my salary expectations on my CV?

Adding salary expectations cannot belong to a CV unless it is specifically required in the job advertisement. If it is requested, you should consider providing a realistic range according to the role, current market conditions, and your experience. You should also discuss remuneration in more detail during the hiring process.

Read Our Related Articles :

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What are the 3 F’s of a CV

What are the 3 C’s of a Resume

Final Thoughts

When you avoid common CV mistakes in NZ, it will significantly improve your chances of progressing to the interview stage. Employers generally value those CVs that are concise, easy to read, relevant to the position, supported by clear evidence of skills and achievements and free of resume mistakes.

Before you submit your next application, you should check that your CV is tailored to the role, uses professional English, avoids unnecessary personal details, contains accurate information and clearly demonstrates what you have achieved. It is important that you are hardworking and motivated. You should show this through specific examples. A strong CV should not be complicated, but it needs to make your experience easy to understand and make a convincing case for why you are the right person for the job.