A common peeve of headhunters is that jobseekers rarely spend time tweaking their resumes and only update their last job, thinking it is relevant enough for the new position they are applying to.
Not quite right. Adding your last job is of course crucial, but deleting the not-so-important ones is also important as this will make your CV less confusing to the potential employer who perhaps will spend only 10 seconds to glance at it.
The key is to not only update your resume, but keep it fresh and relevant.
Not quite right. Adding your last job is of course crucial, but deleting the not-so-important ones is also important as this will make your CV less confusing to the potential employer who perhaps will spend only 10 seconds to glance at it.
The key is to not only update your resume, but keep it fresh and relevant.
Here are a few things that you should remove from the CV to keep it appealing to those you send it to.
Outdated Jobs
To being with, delete things/jobs that are no longer relevant in your job hunt. Keep your work profile and history relevant and interesting to the next step in your career.
For example, you may have done some small job in the college library at the beginning of your career, but do you really need to keep this on your CV after a decade or so when you are applying for the post of a marketing manager? Think.
Your college scores
Your exam scores are important if you are applying for internship, not otherwise. However, if you are a topper from Harvard or London Business School then you can still have it on your CV. Distinguish between what is average and what stands out.
School awards
No, this is totally not necessary in your job hunt. Again, learn to distinguish. If you are a national champion in sports and have represented your country then employers will take note of it, but mentioning your laurels in an inter-school competition is totally silly.
Marital status and number of children
This, again, is not relevant. These questions can be asked during interview rounds so avoid them in the CV.
References
References should always be made available on request. Don’t include a page full of people’s information just because they will give you a good reference. Let the employer decide if he actually is looking for a reference or not.
An overload of contact details
It is important that you leave your contact details on the CV but only what is considered relevant. A phone number and e-mail is perfect, but refrain from putting your address, fax number, website, Skype ID etc. unless asked.
Outdated Jobs
To being with, delete things/jobs that are no longer relevant in your job hunt. Keep your work profile and history relevant and interesting to the next step in your career.
For example, you may have done some small job in the college library at the beginning of your career, but do you really need to keep this on your CV after a decade or so when you are applying for the post of a marketing manager? Think.
Your college scores
Your exam scores are important if you are applying for internship, not otherwise. However, if you are a topper from Harvard or London Business School then you can still have it on your CV. Distinguish between what is average and what stands out.
School awards
No, this is totally not necessary in your job hunt. Again, learn to distinguish. If you are a national champion in sports and have represented your country then employers will take note of it, but mentioning your laurels in an inter-school competition is totally silly.
Marital status and number of children
This, again, is not relevant. These questions can be asked during interview rounds so avoid them in the CV.
References
References should always be made available on request. Don’t include a page full of people’s information just because they will give you a good reference. Let the employer decide if he actually is looking for a reference or not.
An overload of contact details
It is important that you leave your contact details on the CV but only what is considered relevant. A phone number and e-mail is perfect, but refrain from putting your address, fax number, website, Skype ID etc. unless asked.
Post a Comment