Why do you think you still do not have a job yet?
You probably must have thought of things like; “Maybe it is because I don’t have anyone to help me”, “I think I studied the worst course ever” or “I think I am not just lucky about getting a job at all”. These are the thoughts that will come to your mind first, but have you ever thought of “you” being the culprit here.

You can make your job-search period more stressful and longer than it is supposed to be, even if you don’t intend to. Not preparing for a job search at all or showing up late for an interview are little mistakes (you should avoid in 2019) that can stop you from landing your dream job. So if your job-search has lingered for a long time, then you should definitely avoid these job-search mistakes



Before searching for a job
1. Failure to choose a career path
Many job-seekers are desperately in need of a job, so they tend to be comfortable with any job that comes their way. Not choosing a career path can make your job-search really confusing.

2. Not choosing a career path that best fits your interest and skills
Searching and applying for random jobs that you find anywhere is one job-search mistake you should avoid as a job-seeker if you want to have a more tailored and focused job-search.

3. Not preparing for a job search at all
Many job-seekers don’t know that searching for a job is a job on its own. Before you go ahead to search and apply for jobs, you should make sure you have discovered your career path, created a winning CV and an attention getting cover letter.

Resume/CV Mistakes
4. Writing a generic CV
Every CV should be tailored to the particular job that you are applying for, rather than creating a CV that is meant to fit all purpose. A CV that is tailored to meet a particular job description will get more attention.

5. Stating unproven claims (things like I was the best marketer in the industry)
When you make claims like; “I became the best marketer in the industry” that are proven can work against you during the interview section. These kinds of statements can raise the employer’s expectations that you might not be able to meet up to during the interview.

6. Being unprofessional with information on your CV (using annoying email address)
Your CV is an official document that should be treated as one. Every information you give on your CV tells a lot about you, you should be careful to give professional information that the employer needs. Giving unprofessional email address like “hotsexybaby@...” may give the wrong impression about you.

7. Creating a very wordy CV
what your CV does basically is to tell your prospective employer that you are the best person for the job. Recruitment officers have loads of CV’s to read, so creating a wordy CV will not help the process at all.

8. Using cliché’s in your summary that don’t relate to the role
Recruiters see thousands of CV’s on a daily basis and they can easily tell when a job-seeker uses a random summary. The summary on your CV should represent who you are and how you are the best fit for the job.

9. Making your CV unnecessarily Scanty
Your CV should be targeted at giving the right information and impression about you. Formatting your CV to show only scanty bullet of your personal and career information is not good enough. Your CV is your marketing tool and as such should be treated as one.

10. Creating a poorly organized CV
How organized or how disorganized your CV is tells so much about your personality. If you have issues formatting your CV, you can seek the help of a CV service for a well formatted CV.

11. Having too many typos in your CV
Having too many typos shows that you are unorganized, careless and that you don’t pay attention to details. To help you eliminate typographical errors on your CV, you should re-read several times to make sure there are no error.

12. Stating an objective at the beginning of your CV
Some hiring manager’s see it as not relevant at all. According to experts, recruiters have approximately 8 minutes to spend on a CV, and you don’t want to spend time with irrelevancies.

13. Adding salary and negotiations to your CV
Adding a salary range to your CV shows that you are not really interested in the in the company or the job, that you are just interested in the money. It can also mar your opportunity of negotiating your salary properly.

14. Adding Images and logos
If you are not applying for a job in the media or an audition, then adding an image or a logo to your CV may not be really necessary. If you are not very good looking adding an image to your CV may be to your own disadvantage.

15. Leaving unexplained gaps in your CV
When you have employment gaps in your CV, you should always explain the gaps and not leave your prospective employer wondering. Leaving unexplained gaps can mean that you were ideal during that period. Employers want hard working and innovative employees.

16. Saving your CV in unsupported formats
You should always save your CV in supported formats that can easily be opened. A CV should be saved in formats like PDF and word document. Using special file format to save your document may not be the best option.

17. Adding reference without request
You should only add reference to your CV if it is requested by the recruiter. Adding a reference to your CV without permission is can make your CV unnecessarily wordy.

18. Writing your CV in third person narration
Writing your CV in third person narration makes it sound objective, more like you are not the one applying for the job. You should avoid using words like; he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its, their, and theirs. You should rather use words like “I”.

19. Including hobbies and interests that are not related to the job
There is no point for you to include hobbies and interest that doesn’t relate to the job description. You should only add interests and hobbies that will emphasize that you are the best person for the job.

20. Lying about yourself on your CV
Giving the wrong information about yourself on your CV will not land you the job. Since you eventually look forward to getting an interview invite, then you have to give only information that you can defend.

21. Not including important information on your CV
You should never leave out important information on your CV, because that is what the employer will use to contact you. Information like; your telephone number, email address, etc. should not be left out of your CV.

22. Putting incorrect contact information
Before sending out your CV, you should make sure you include all the relevant information on your CV. Putting incorrect contact information, email address etc. may hinder employers from contacting you.

23. Not including keywords
Keywords are the phrases or words used in your CV that the ATS software will pick up. Including keywords in your resume will help it get noticed fast. The keyword you use on your CV should include adjectives like; diligent, hard-working, punctual etc. and verbs like delivered, achieved.

Cover Letter Mistakes
24. Restating your CV/Resume
Your cover letter should not be another copy of your CV. Your cover letter is an opportunity for you to show that you are the best person for the job.

25. Focusing too much on what you want to gain rather than what you want to give when writing your cover letter
When writing your cover letter, you should not write it in a way that it will speak so much of what you want to get from the company rather than what you will bring to the table. Your cover letter should be a summary of what you bring to the table that makes you the best.

26. Grammatical errors
You should always avoid making grammatical errors on your cover letter since your cover letter is your marketing tool. You can use grammarly.com to help you eliminate such errors.

27. Using a generic template message that doesn’t relate to the role
You should be specific when you are tailoring your cover letter to suit a particular role. Using a generic cover letter when applying for a more specific job role is one mistake every job-seeker should avoid.

28. Writing a long cover letter
Your cover letter doesn’t need to be unnecessarily long. It should a have a focus and be straight to the point. You should go ahead and sell yourself in a concise manner when you are writing a cover letter.

29. Focusing more on your soft skill rather than related skills
When you are writing your cover letter, you should focus on adding skills that are related to the job description. Making a list of your soft skills is just making your cover letter unnecessarily wordy and irrelevant.

30. Including unnecessary information
Adding unnecessary information like; your name, educational background etc. when writing your cover letter makes it wordy and irrelevant to the post that you are applying for.