What to avoid in a CV and a cover letter?

Everyone tells you what your CV and cover letter should contain, but what to avoid in a CV and a cover letter is perhaps even more important!

There are certain things that you should avoid in a CV and a cover letter. That’s 100% correct. And most of the jobseekers know the most obvious things. However, if you want to know what professional CV writers tell people to avoid in a CV and a cover letter, keep on reading because you’re in for a treat!

#1 thing to avoid in a CV and a cover letter

Most definitely, it’s oversharing, and I’m talking about personal information. By this, we mean photograph, marital status, explaining why you have an employment gap, hobbies, interests, and achievements that are not necessarily work-related.

Wondering why some/all/any of these should be avoided?

Truth be told, it’s because they will reveal too much too soon! Your CV is merely a ticket that gets you an interview. No need to tell everyone you spent 2 years backpacking through South America and that’s why you have an employment gap. There’s no need to tell them you’re single, either. Or your parents’ names. And we did see all of these in people’s CVs, so we’re not just making up stuff here.

The reason why you should avoid these things is fairly simple – those are personal things that tell nothing about how well you can perform at a job.

 

#2 thing to avoid – long & complex text

Have you ever seen the TL;DR abbreviation? It stands for “too long; didn’t read” and it’s not something you want to pop into mind when people open your CV. The same thing applies to your cover letter. Therefore, you need to learn to keep your CV simple so people actually want to read it.

There’s always a way to say something in a simpler, cleaner way while keeping the important bits in. Here at Linking Lines, we achieve that by using bullet points. Not only that, but we only mention those things that can help the client get the job interview.

This approach is used in both CVs and cover letters. Keep in mind that cover letters need to be short, concise and make the reader want to open your CV. If your cover letter is too complex and long, no one will even see your CV.

So, for example, instead of explaining your past experience with an 8-sentence long paragraph, use a few concise bullet points. We’re not against sentences at all! You can start describing your experience with a few introductory sentences. By that, we mean 2 or 3 – just enough so the reader gets the idea of your role.

As for the cover letter, pretty much the same logic applies. Don’t write out your full history, just stick to the important bits.

To conclude, if you want people to read what you wrote, avoid long and complex texts. This applies to pretty much anything (who has the time or the attention to read nowadays?) but definitely avoid in your CV and a cover letter.

 

#3 thing to avoid – not saying enough

We’ve come to the third thing to avoid in a CV and a cover letter and it’s the exact opposite of the previous point. We’re talking about not sharing enough information. Of course, here we mean job-related, important information that help the reader understand why you’re the perfect person for the job.

How and when does this happen?

Honestly, it happens when people assume the reader will know exactly what they mean. So, instead of writing a few bullet points, they just write the job title. And that’s it! Nothing else about the job, accomplishments, or struggles. Needless to say that’s not a proper CV and you need to add some meat to it.

The same thing applies to education – you can’t just list your certifications. People do not know the program, so, it’s necessary that you show what you’ve learnt.

Similarly, in your cover letter, you do need to explain why you’re applying and how you can contribute. Make an effort to leave a good impression. If you just list your skills, experience, and certificates, it might come off as arrogant. Spoon-feed the information to your reader.

So, in other words, balance is key. Remember not to bore the reader but also remember to introduce yourself properly.

 

#4 thing to avoid – templates

Last but not least, we need to mention templated approach to CV writing.

Yes, we know, the internet is full of those! However, that doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do it. Your CV should be a reflection of who you are. Therefore, you can’t use the same template and same keywords someone on the internet provided for your occupation. Sure, it might work in some cases. However, if you want a smashing CV that works every time, you better write it from scratch.

 

How to avoid these and other mistakes?

Most definitely, the first step is to do your research. If you’ve read any of our other blogs, you know that research is a top priority.

You need to write several versions of your CV and simply test them – see what works and then tweak your CV and cover letter.

It’s easy to write a successful CV with our step-by-step guide that you can order here. Follow the principles outlined here and get more replies to job applications and more interviews!

However, if you have no time or you do not see results – get in touch now using the form below.

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