During 2007 I was off following children… Pardon?! At first glance it is seems a very innocent statement but it certainly caused a few raised eyebrows at the recruitment company the acquaintance who told me the story worked at. A CV is supposed to be a very serious document but you cannot help some of the unintentionalhumourthat creeps in! It is not complete uncommon foran individual to try and write their CV and be funny on purpose but this is a massive NO if you want to be considered seriously you should avoid this tactic at all costs. It is very hard to conveyhumourin written form, unless you are writing a comedy script, and you might find your CV lands in front of the one person who makes the hiring decision whodoesn’thave asenseofhumour.
Everybody makes simple spelling mistakes in documents and you trust that it will be picked up when proof reading it before sending it out but alas its theses little things that slip thought… I mean through!! A simple internet search turned up these little gems:
- Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse
- I’m working today in a furniture factory as a drawer
- I’m intrested to here more about that
- Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year
When having a quick read through the hundreds of examples on the internet it helps raises a smile and a few chuckles but these are real mistakes people have made because they have not read through the CV before sending it! Quite a few people consider proof reading boring and a waste of time but it could be that one mistake that you spot that could have been the difference between the hiring manager adding your CV to the pile of people to invite to an interview or the pile to be shredded. If you are serious about finding a new position and you need to update or completely re-write a CV then don’t do it in one quick sitting in front of the keyboard. Write it go away and come back for a fresh look at it, or better yet as someone you know and trust for their impartial advice.
Remember to doble chck your speling an grammer too a-void any careles mistaks…
