Only few things could be more frustrating than submitting your CV for several job openings and not getting invited for a single interview. If that’s what you’re facing presently, then you’re not alone. There are thousands of Nigerian job seekers out there whose CVs end up in hiring managers’ trash bins.

But do you know why your CV hasn’t won you a single interview invitation? No, it’s not bad luck. And it’s not because you don’t have the “connections”. It’s most likely because you’re making some silly mistakes on your CV, and as a result, you’re losing your chances to other applicants who are smart enough to avoid such mistakes.

Now, what are those mistakes that could send your CV into the trash bin of Nigerian hiring managers? Here are the ten commonest ones:

1. Making your CV too long

The ideal length of a CV is two pages at most, although it could be longer for those with a huge work experience. So, if you’re a young graduate with zero to few years of experience, for no reason should your CV exceed two pages.

Remember that hiring managers have to go through hundreds to thousands of CVs while screening applicants for a position, and they have limited time to make their selection. So, rather than spend extra time on looking through a lengthy CV, they would simply toss it aside because they favor CVs that show with a single glance all the relevant details they’re looking for.

2. Making grammatical and spelling errors

Having grammar and spelling errors on your CV sends a lot of negative signals about you. First, that you didn’t attend good schools. Second, that you don’t pay attention to detail. Third, that you’re careless or negligent. And it could go on and on.

So, to avoid giving a bad account of yourself, take your time to edit out all errors in your CV—grammar, spelling, and even punctuation. To be absolutely sure, ask other people to also help you check it. Keeping your CV free of errors is very important. Do you expect a hiring manager to favor an error-laden CV over one that is error-free?

3. Adding irrelevant details

Only few things annoy hiring managers than seeing irrelevant points in an applicant’s CV. So, to boost your chances of being selected for the job, include only information that is relevant to the position and cut out whatever is not.

For example, if you’re applying for a Mechanical Engineer position, you don’t need to add that you once taught in a primary school for a few months after graduation; that’s not relevant to the job. Similarly, nobody is interested in your primary school or the church you attend; so cut out stuffs like that from your CV.

Aside making your CV overly long, irrelevant information tends to mask out the more important details that could have caught the hiring manager’s attention.

4. Making empty, vague claims

While it’s important to list some accomplishments you’ve recorded with your skills, you should avoid using vague words that say a lot but actually mean nothing.

For example, don’t just write “improved sales”. Rather, write “grew revenue by 8% by attracting 16 new clients in 2014”. Similarly, rather than writing “attended to customer needs”, write “responded promptly to customer inquiries via email and phone, and promptly forwarded complaints to the relevant department”.

By being specific, you make your claims more concrete and convincing. And that will boost your chances of getting an interview invitation.

SEE ALL 10 MISTAKES HERE!

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Do you write CVs and for how much each?

clapbest:
Do you write CVs and for how much each?

Thanks for asking. Here's the link to my website. You'll find all the answers you seek.

clapbest:
Do you write CVs and for how much each?

Check out this guy....He is doing a great job.
https://www.nairaland.com/4551579/jobs-professional-cv-get-cv

Thanks

hausadreturn:
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