Top 5 Résumé Fails (Infographic)

Posted by Siofra Pratt, October 22, 2014

We’ve been dispensing a lot of CV and résumé advice over the last couple of weeks, mainly because we believe that better CVs benefit everybody.

I think it’s fair to say that as recruiters we’ve seen our fair share of badly written, hideous looking and just down right awful CVs sent to us by hopeful candidates, in our time. But on the flip side we’ve all also seen at least one immaculate, easy to read, visually pleasing, gem of a CV that was a pleasure to read and resulted in us making a great hire. What if every CV could be like that one? It would certainly make our jobs a little easier wouldn’t it? So with that in mind, we present to you the Top 5 Résumé Fails – a guide to help candidates improve their CVs’, in order to help us improve the way we hire.

A sort of recruiters helping candidates helping recruiters kind of thing. So pass it along!

Source: Find The Right Job

Top Takeaways:

38% of recruiters spend less then 1 minute looking at your CV.
Avoid padding or over-embellishing our CV. Stick to the point and stick to the truth. Use bullet points to help you.
90% of recruiters will use keyword reading technology to screen your CV before they even shed eyes on it, so be very careful with how you choose to word it. Spend time researching both how the job description for the job you’re applying for, and other similar job descriptions, are written. Note the words that are mentioned repeatedly and be sure to include them in your own CV.
Don’t throw away a job opportunity with bad spelling and grammar. Once you have completed your CV, read it out loud to yourself or get your computer to read it back to you (almost all PCs and Macs have text to speech technology). Better still, get a friend or family member to read it. There’s nothing like a fresh set of eyes to catch mistakes you may have overlooked.
79% of recruiters have said that they pay far more attention to CVs that are tailored/customised for the open position. Make sure your CV shows a clear match between your qualifications, skills and experience and the requirements of the role you’re applying for.

Don't just take our word for it

"As a fast-growing start up, we need great people with a tough set of skills to find. They need to be hungry, experienced and fit the culture of a business that is always adapting and growing. Finding these people using Linkedin and other job boards is tough, time-consuming and rarely bears fruit. Ross has always been able to uncover gems for us, and we are benefiting greatly from his skills at CONCURED. Ross has a rare ability to really understand the business, the culture and the people that will nail the role. I couldn't recommend him highly enough, and he is the only recruiter we deal with"
- Tom Salvat, CEO, CONCURED
I am writing to express my gratitude to Ross Clifford & Associates who helped me successfully secure the role of Enterprise Sales Executive at Concured. Ross was extremely professional and understood the specifics of the job I required. I especially appreciated his fast response, transparent communication, and coordination in a timely and efficient manner.
- Tariq Mahmood, Enterprise Sales, Concured AI Content Marketing
Ross is one of the friendliest recruiters I've dealt with. He was always attentive, quick to respond and ready to help with any questions I had. He's very professional, and not at all superficial like so many other recruiters out there. I would highly recommend him.
- Jessica Cole, Editor – Redwood London.
“We look for commercial people with a rare blend of talents. They need to be able to advise our blue-chip clients on thought leadership strategy. They need to be highly strategic and purposeful in uncovering opportunity. And they need the hunger it takes to thrive in a rapidly evolving business. RC&A were quick to understand our needs, they only delivered high-quality people for interview, and succeeded in getting us a winning candidate incredibly fast.”
- Gareth Lofthouse, Founding Partner, Longitude.
I can't rate or recommend Ross highly enough. He brings a thoughtful, personal approach to the process, carefully matching opportunities with candidates, through a good understanding of their priorities and skills. Throughout, he keeps candidates up to date in an open, honest way. A genuine pleasure to work with.
- Johnny Meredith, Senior New Business Manager, The Bio Agency.
Ross is the best recruitment agent I have worked with, he stayed in contact, kept me informed and was with me every step of the process. He also checked in with me during my first couple of weeks in my new role to make sure I was settling in. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.
- Karen Troman, Office Manager & HR Co-ordinator, VoucherCodes.co.uk part of RetailMeNot
I have worked with Ross over 4 years now and he has always delivered a really high standard of candidate both at senior and junior level. His online knowledge is second to none and all the candidates he has put forward over the years have only good things to say about Ross and his work ethic.
- Neil Kettleborough, CRO & Co Founder, Chalk Social
Ross is a fantastic recruitment consultant - extremely professional, meticulous, patient and supportive. Throughout the process, I felt he represented me really well and genuinely cared about my career and finding the right role. Thanks to Ross I am now in a role I love, working with a brilliant team. Very highly recommended!
- Helen Rosemier, Commercial Director, Professional & Financial Services Practice, Longitude

Top 5 Résumé Fails (Infographic)