The Absolute no nos for a well armed résumé.
Finally, the elections are over and now we can breathe a little. Life can return to some sense of normalcy and we can stop fighting each other over social media. Companies can now revisit suspended recruitment campaigns and business can continue as usual. I can now write my concluding thoughts on drafting a well armed résumé!
The last time we reviewed this topic, we looked at the must-dos to get your résumé to grab a few extra seconds of the recruiter’s attention. Even if you get these right, there are a few things that if you did wrong, may get you the complete opposite of the reaction you’re expecting. “But how can that be so?” you ask. Well, it’s relatively easy to explain. Picture this…you’re a lady and in the distance, the most attractive young man you’ve ever seen is approaching you…he’s got his clear blue eyes trained in your direction and his gait is confident and strong. From what you’ve seen so far, he ticks all the boxes…tall, dark, handsome, broad shoulders, dangles the keys of his nice car. You let your guards down slightly, checking, scoping…is he for real? Then he gets in your face and he opens his mouth and out comes the most putrid smell you have ever experienced. An unbearable mixture of latrine and rotten eggs oozes in your direction…you can barely keep a straight face as you squeeze your nose to avoid the invasion and then your ears catch the words that escaped from the same mouth and you can’t take it any longer! Get the picture now?
In my experience, I think there are a few pitfalls that candidates get themselves into that are absolute turn-offs for a recruiter. Below, I explain a few common ones you might want to avoid.
1. Drafting your CV by modifying someone else’s: This is a common practice amongst young people and for me is an absolute no no. While it is possible to get away with it if a thorough review jobs is done, the fact is that many who use this method to produce their résumés are not meticulous enough to review it correctly. Invariably, many components of the original author’s résumé are retained in the copy because the copycat likes the way they sound and not because they are true. Many who use this method are simply too lazy to produce their own résumés and end up obviously unable to defend what’s written in their own CVs. I’ve seen too many of these miswritten CVs to make me cringe. Some do not even have the decorum to change the contact address of the original author of the CV. Several times, I have interviewed candidates who when I probe about something on their resume, are wondering where the information came from. Once, I asked a candidate a question about something he claimed to be experienced at and he said to me “No…I don’t know anything about that”. I asked “but your resume says you did this and that”. He asked to see it and then stammered into explaining how that was an old CV prepared by a friend. Needless to say that the interview ended not long thereafter. Remember, what you put in your resume has got to be an original representation of who you are and not a copy of another person’s profile.
2. Providing Wrong Contact Info: Your contact information is a critical information on your CV. It will only be used when it is pertinent to contact you. You need to be sure the information on it is current and correct. Back in the days, before emails and mobile phones were anything to come by, this was perhaps the most important part of your CV to get right. You could miss a test or interview invitation simply because your house number was wrong. Today, the case is different, but the need is the same. Most of the contact these days is made by email and telephone, in that order so both need to be at least correct. Except where the recruitment exercise is urgent or when headhunting, a recruiter is likely to contact you first by email before using the telephone. So, use an email address that you check often and not one that you only refer to once in a while.
3. CV drama: Avoid overdramatizing your résumé. Using a variety of colors and fontsdistracts from the central message. Stick to using one common, easy to read font throughout the document and keep the color black.
4. Using an outdated CV: As a rule of thumb, if you’re an active job seeker, you should update your CV every six months or for every job application whichever is earlier. Throwing in your CV for a job application without reviewing it may mean that it’s already outdated.
5. Writing your job description instead of accomplishments: In trying to appear impressive, many applicants write the details of their job roles as part of their experience. While I know they sound and look nice to you, to recruiters, they don’t say much. What we are actually looking out for are your accomplishments not your duties or responsibilities. We want to know what you did and not what your job was supposed to do.
6. Scanty vs Verbose Résumé: Avoid the temptation of either extreme and attempt to strike a balance in terms of the CV length. Too much and it’s a turn off and too little it’s an irritant. Is there a necessary rule on how long it should be? No. A general rule of thumb though is that the first two pages should contain all the information required. Remember a recruiter has an average of seven seconds to see all he needs to see. A scanty CV just smacks of an absence of ideas. If you’re going to do a one pager, make it a full one pager and not half-a–page one pager. If you don’t have anything to say about yourself that can fill up to one page, then maybe you shouldn’t be applying for any job yet.
To conclude, let me also share with you two things candidates often include at the beginning and end of their CVs but can actually do without. The first, often at the beginning is what many term the “objective”. This usually beautifully crafted often lengthy statement about what your overall expectations of your career life are, does not convey any meaningful message to the recruiter, and is hardly even read. So quite honestly, you can scrap it. The second, often at the end of the CV is the cliché statement “references available on request”. Honestly, at the point your resume is being reviewed, your references are not required. Our interest in your references is sparked only when the hiring decision is being made or after it has been made. So you either simply provide the references, or lose the statement. Your references are going to be demanded anyways, whether or not you provide them in your CV, so that bit is somewhat redundant…you can scrap it too.
Let’s recap. I have walked you through what a good CV does for you in your job search battle and likened it to your most prolific ammunition. I have also taken you through what are the must dos and the mustn’t dos of putting together this important document. And finally, I have shown you a few things you can do without, which do not add value to your résumé. Now, I encourage you to get right to work. Take some time to prepare or update your resume using some of these concepts I have described. I’ll be happy to read any testimonials of your observations following the changes you have made and can take some questions on my twitter handle (see below).
Next time, I will begin sharing with you my thoughts on how to prepare and succeed in assessment tests.
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Deji (@deji_ogunnubi)
In my words... 
ok… this just saved me the trouble. Thanks.