The labor market is a competitive place for job seekers. While handfuls receive invitations for interviews, others who were not selected move on without pondering why they never got shortlisted. The answer may lie within their CVs.

Recruiters are busy people and when a CV falls below standard, they hit the delete button. The reasons your CV isn’t getting you interviews may include:

1. It’s generic; Don’t copy and paste ideas from samples, it will only make your CV look like a circus. Try to be specific and discrete.
2. It lists duties without accomplishments; every job has its share of responsibilities. So focus on what you were able to achieve during your stay at the job.
3. It contains spelling and grammatical errors; Don’t construct your CV in a hurry. Always cross check every word and spelling.
4. It’s poorly formatted; Try not to use excessive styling on your CV. Stick to clear fonts e.g. Arial, and make it simple.
5. It’s too short or too long; Don’t round up your resume in three lines or over-exaggerate. Try to strike a balance, at most two pages, and keep it interesting.
6. It includes irrelevant details; Stay clear off details that are unrelated to the job e.g. I’m very religious. Simply don’t disclose any information that will not give you an edge over others.
7. Ridiculous email address; Give resumes a professional email. An address like sexy&ready@gmail.com seems silly.
8. Weird hobbies; Never write a hobby that raises more than a few eyebrows. Let it reflect your passions, not some bad joke.
9. Inaccurate dates; Ensure that your CV corresponds with your records. Wrong dates can attract questions concerning your character.
10. Unexplained employment gaps; Don’t forge imaginary jobs to fill the period you were unemployed. Instead, lay emphasis on the experiences gained.
11. Lack of cover letter; Always include a cover letter when submitting your CV.
12. Boring cover letter; Be specific in your cover letter. Let it grab the attention of a recruiter who’s scanning through to see if your CV is worth reading.

In a country where thousands are unemployed, make your CV stand out. It may be the next step, or stumbling block, to getting you an interview.

About the Author
Patrick Okunima is the CEO of CV Wizards (www.cvwizards.com), Nigeria's best CV Writers. He is an accountant, data analyst, professional CV writer and entrepreneur.

In his extensive career, he has written over 3,000 CVs for entry level, mid level management and executives across various industries. Patrick also has several years of experience providing students (undergraduate and graduate) with qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis including; chi-square, t-Tests, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), regression and correlation analysis etc. for B.Sc. Projects, M.Sc. Thesis and PhD Dissertation. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from the University of Benin.

He can be reached on 07030949450 or email: patrickokunima@gmail.com

Thanks mr Patrick. I will get my CV across to you, so that you can help me cross check it. Helpful editing wil be welcome.

abidogunjames@gmail.com

Thank you very much sir. I have gotten my mistakes and I ll correct them asap.

smart2precise: Thank you very much sir. I have gotten my mistakes and I ll correct them asap.

The pleasure's mine.

Nice piece sir, thank you. Can I send you my CV so you can help edit or analyse? Waiting for your reply.