Getting your CV right is essential for if you want to land your dream job and make the best first impression. It gives the employer a brief overview of what you are like as a employee and what you can bring to their company. To ensure that your CV catches a recruiter’s eye immediately (and saves them a bunch of time scrolling through pointless information), here are 8 things you can remove from it to give you the best chance.
Age and date of birth
Since your age does not determine whether you can perform a job or not, it doesn’t need to be included on your CV. The employer will consider your past jobs and how many years experience you have – not on your age. In the UK, it is illegal for employers to refuse to hire you based on your age. Therefore, during the interview process, they should not ask this information and should not base their decisions on your age.
Marital status and children
Like your age, your marital status or how many children you have does not determine your ability to do your job, and therefore there is no requirement to include this on your CV either. Additionally, you can refuse to answer this in an interview.
Headshots/photo
In most countries, a headshot is required. However, in the UK, it is not. The employer should judge you on your skills and your experience, more than what you look like. If they do, this is not only discriminating, but it is also not fair, since what you look like does not determine your ability. Additionally, a photo can reveal your age and can keep the employer guessing. Avoid the chance of age discrimination by not including a photo in your CV.
Irrelevant work experience or skills
It is essential that you tailor your CV to the job, so don’t be afraid to delete irrelevant work experience or skills that don’t apply to the role you’re going for. This includes work experience that you did in high school or jobs you previously had that have no relevance to the position in question. You would just be giving recruiters more of a reason to skim past your CV.
References
Many people include references on their CV, but at the application stage, it’s not relevant. A recruiter will only contact referees if they have offered you the job, unless stated otherwise. So you could actually be including this information prematurely, when you could be using that space on your CV for something more interesting and relevant to your application.
‘Curriculum Vitae’ as the title
Many people make the mistake of titling their CV ‘Curriculum Vitae’. This is outdated and unnecessary. As many CV’s are made online, the file name should be enough for the employer to know what it is. If you have set your CV out correctly, the employer will also know that it is a CV from first glance. Put your name as the title of your CV and your current role. Put these in big letter,s and underneath in slightly smaller text include your email address, phone number, and perhaps your LinkedIn profile.
One or two month jobs
One or two month jobs you’ve had in the past do not provide any help whatsoever. One or two months is not enough time to gain new skills, develop existing skills or understanding an organisation. Furthermore, chances are that if you only had that job for a month or two, this could be because something did not go to plan, so we would not recommend adding it to your CV.
Want more CV advice? Download our CV guide below:
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