Creating a perfect cv is one of the biggest issues fresh graduates always face. They are always complex about what should be and what should not be in their cv, therefore, here are the 7 things to remove from one’s cv.
1) Hobbies and personal interests
Love sports? Camping? Gardening? Everyone has a hobby, and most people think that the more unique it is, the more it will make them stand out from other candidates. But hiring managers don’t care about how you spend your free time, at least not immediately. They have deadlines and large piles of resumes to review, and right now, they’re just focused on finding candidates who meet the requirements. Of course, it’s okay to include your hobby if it’s related to the position you’re applying for. If it’s a finance job, for example, mentioning that you like to dabble in cryptocurrency investing can be seen as a plus. But if you’re trying to land a medical research assistant role, don’t bother.
2) Too many soft skills
You must be thinking, but aren’t soft skills a good thing? Yes, but to a certain extent. Too many candidates overdo it with the soft skills, and hiring managers are very aware of this common ploy, so you might lose credibility when you start listing too many. I generally recommend having more hard skills than soft skills. For the soft skills that you do include, make sure they are demonstrated and not just stated. Instead of just saying you’re good at multitasking, for example, it’s better to include something like, “Led multiple projects from start to completion, leading to an X% increase in X.”
3) Email
Hiring managers want candidates who are at least somewhat tech-savvy … and that means not having an email address from an outdated account like AOL or Hotmail. When in doubt, just stick with a Gmail or Outlook address.
4) Exaggerations/ lies
Transparent exaggerations are a good way to get your application tossed out altogether. Even if somebody doesn’t immediately recognize that you have inflated your operational budget a little bit, it’s more than likely that you will be exposed during the interview process. The truth will come out; it’s better to err on the side of truth than get caught trying to make yourself seem more important than you are.
5) Too many pages
Chances are, if you’re thinking about exceeding two pages on your resume, you’re already including too much. In fact, unless you are an experienced professional with more than ten years in the workforce, a single page should be sufficient. Hiring managers only need to see the highlights of your experience that will best sell you for the position, and too many pages will indicate that you are including unnecessary and uninteresting information.
6) Too many colors
Professionalism is always key. While a bit of color can add a splash of individuality to a resume, more than one or two colors and the resume will start to look less like a professional document and more like an art project. Make sure that any color in your CV is tasteful and professional.
7) Acronyms
Especially in high-tech professions, it can be easy to fall into the trap of using too many complex acronyms or abbreviations that can cause a reader to be frustrated or misunderstand what you are trying to say. Don’t use acronyms unless you are absolutely certain that a potential employer will understand what you are trying to say.
