8 things to remove from your CV

Those of you who know us, will know we always ensure your CV is tailored individually for each vacancy you are interested in. Naturally we'd never lie on your CV, however it is our job to highlight your relevant experience for each vacancy thereby maximising your chances of being invited to an interview. When building your own CV, it is a good idea to avoid the following:

1. Unless you are going for a design or creative role, graphics / pictures are not in your favour (apart from your profile picture for the SA market). They don't make it past the AI tracking software and they can look make you look frivolous.

2. The same applies to jokes or witty quotations - rather save those for your first day

3. Keep it concise. No one pays attention to a 15 page document and it makes you look boring and as far removed from dynamic as it gets.

4. Never cut and paste your current job description - apart from being a boring read, job descriptions don't describe what you have achieved. We need to know the kind of work you actually did, the impact you made and any associated metrics that you achieved.

5. Don't add every single tech skills you have ever encountered. It makes you look like a jack of all trades, master of none. Focus on the skills you want to work with and that you are already competent using. The other risk is that you are set up for failure if you list a skill and they ask you about it in an interview and you can't answer.

6. No need to include reference contact info at CV submission stage. We need your permission to contact any references and will certainly ask for it closer to offer stage

7. Use common sense about the level of detail you include. The further back it is, the less important it is.

8. Don't bother listing skills that are assumed. Email, Word, Powerpoint etc. are all a given for Knowledge Workers.

Please don't hesitate to email me if you want to discuss your career.