What not to write on your Resume

CVs and Resumes are a potential employer's first impression of you as a candidate for the job they have advertised. Avoid your CV or Resume being dismissed out of hand because of mistakes – read this list of common CV errors in order to avoid falling at the first hurdle of the recruitment process.

Never lie

Don't say anything on your CV that you can't support and explain in an interview. Lying on your CV is something you should never do; no matter how much you want the job. If you feel that your qualifications or work experience don't fit the criteria, then you should re-consider applying for the job. Recruiters are interested in the person who is described in the CV, if you've lied then you will be wasting everybody's time.

People who lie on their CVs often do this because they believe they need to in order to get to the interview stage. However, even if the applicant is successful at the interview, employers will check references and perhaps even contact the institutions where you mentioned you obtained your qualifications. Employers will not look favourably on applicants that have lied and if a lie is discovered after you have been recruited, it could jeopardise your job.

Don't be verbose

Being overly wordy to try and impress employers with your language skills will not work. If employers have to concentrate too hard to extract the relevant information from your CV or Resume, they simply won’t read it. The most successful CVs and Resumes are written concisely and to the point – you don’t want your CV to read like a novel or sound pretentious.

Don't use jargon or abbreviations

Whilst you want to demonstrate that you have sector-specific knowledge by using the correct terminology, avoid using in-house abbreviations and very technical jargon. Assume the person who initially receives your CV doesn’t have this knowledge (as is often the case).

Don't include a photo (unless asked)

CV Templates

CV Example - 1 page Resume

CV Example - Skills CV

CV Example - Table format

CV Example - Graduate CV

You may be attractive and think this might increase your chances but it really isn't necessary.

It is your skills and potential that needs to stand out without the aid of appearances.

Don't mix your tenses

This is a common mistake people make because a CV or Resume talks both about work you are doing now and past work experience. It doesn’t matter if you use past or present tense but pick one and stick to it!

Avoid writing in the first person

There's nothing worse than reading a CV that's full of "I did this," "I did that". You want to avoid writing in the first person as much as you can – using action verbs to start sentences is a good way to overcome this.

Actions words and verbs you can use in your CV